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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28553844">No one can hope to find out the truth without investigation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kersenvla/pseuds/kersenvla'>kersenvla</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ITZY (Band), Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Detectives, Disappearance, Felix is his Tech GuyTM, Hyunjin and Minho are roommates, Jisung sends letters because he thinks that's romantic, Kim Seungmin is Whipped, Kim Seungmin-centric, Lee Minho | Lee Know-centric, Light Angst, M/M, Minho is a florist, Minor Violence, Mystery, Plot heavy (lol), Private Investigator Kim Seungmin, Private Investigators, Ryujin and Lia drive motorcycles, So much happens I dont know what to tag haha, They are all very good friends, for a tiny bit, lots of investigation, only minor and very little violence because Seungmin is a peaceful PI, possible kidnapping, they live in a small town where nothing happens (until now...?!)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:22:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>98,597</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28553844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kersenvla/pseuds/kersenvla</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Seungmin is on his way to becoming a private investigator in a small town where nothing happens when Minho loses his roommate and neighbours Chan, Changbin and Jisung as they leave town to follow their dreams. No one expects Minho to get a new roommate and especially not someone from outside of town, but that is exactly what happens when Hyunjin comes looking for peace and quiet and a new home.<br/>Seungmin becomes an official private investigator with Felix as his tech guyTM but things start slow. His first case being a simple game of hide and seek and his second case is finding out who wrote a love letter to Hyunjin, when Seungmin is the one who wrote it.<br/>When Seungmin is on his way to tell Hyunjin the truth, he finds that Hyunjin and Minho’s apartment is trashed and Hyunjin is nowhere to be found.<br/>Seungmin, Felix and Minho work together to find out what happened.</p><p> </p><p>OR: Private Investigator Seungmin writes a love letter to Hyunjin but when he wants to confess his feelings Hyunjin is gone and he investigates his disappearance together with Felix and Minho.</p><p> </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>225</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>86</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. You are my friend before you are my detective</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello and happy new year everyone! It's been a while since I've posted anything and this work is the reason for that. I started writing this three months ago and have been thinking about it for longer but I finally feel confident enough to post it. It's almost finished, but I have enough chapters to start posting at a regular schedule already !</p><p>I hope I have checked everything enough times for there to be no plot holes and otherwise: I'm sorry ahah! Also, English is not my first language so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes or awkward sentences.</p><p>I hope you enjoy this and I would love to read a comment with your thoughts about the fic if you have any! Have a nice day and enjoy~~~</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Hey! Kim Seungmin!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh gosh, what does he want this time?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin thought as he was interrupted on his harmless walk by the voice of Lee Minho, the guy who runs the flower stand outside the flower shop. Some people would say they are friends, and technically they would be correct, but Seungmin would never admit it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned around to see Minho motioning him to come over and Seungmin pondered if he should or not, just to tease the older a bit. Minho sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yah! Detective Kim, come here for a second! I need your help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh? </span>
  </em>
  <span>That sparked Seungmin’s curiosity. He didn’t particularly like the way Minho called him </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Detective Kim’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, because technically he was a private investigator, and it was obviously meant to make fun of him, but he came over anyway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?” He asked curiously, the smell of the flowers suddenly a lot stronger as he came closer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you on a case right now?” Minho asked in return, gesturing around vaguely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I just started and—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought so, I have a first case for you!” The florist interrupted him with a satisfied smile on his face. Seungmin sighed, he was glad Minho had a case for him, but it was probably something like find me some good cat food or something. Seungmin was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> private investigator, though. (Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a big word, he was officially a freelance private investigator, but he still had to get his first case.) </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dori ran away earlier, it must have been when I was on a bathroom break. Will you find her for me~?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Seungmin immediately declined and Minho frowned, jutting out his lower lip a little, trying to look cute or something. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pouting isn’t going to work on me, Minho</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Seungmin thought as he crossed his arms and gave the florist a look that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘no’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why not? I’m giving you a job!” Minho whined. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is barely a job for a private investigator. Do it yourself!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to keep an eye on the shop, though. And on Soonie and Doongie, they need food in a couple of minutes, they’re still hanging around in the shop.” Minho actually gave him reasons to think he was serious right now, maybe his cat was really gone and Minho was really worried, he cared a lot about his cats after all. Minho sighed and looked at Seungmin seriously. “Please? Dori’s my youngest and I’m worried about her. I would go look for her myself if I could, but I can’t. And— Imagine what Hyunjin will think of you when I tell him about how you helped me find Dori versus what he’ll think if I tell him that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>refused</span>
  </em>
  <span> to help—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay! Okay! I was already going to agree! You didn’t have to bring Hyunjin up!” Seungmin quickly stopped him, a blush already creeping up his neck at the mention of his friend. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gosh! Minho always knows how to push my buttons.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Detective Kim.” Minho smiled, satisfied with the fact that he managed to convince Seungmin </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> tease him. “I’ll pay you for your efforts too, even though I already did you a favor by giving you your first case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever. You don’t need to pay me, just— I’ll take a look in the shop first.” Seungmin waved the older off and walked past him into the flower shop, ignoring Minho’s comments on how he already checked every corner of the flower shop, he knew that and he didn’t expect Dori to be inside the shop, but he needed to compare Minho’s other two cats— </span>
  <em>
    <span>what were their names again…? Sunny and Dunny? No, that sounds wrong. Whatever</span>
  </em>
  <span>— with the posts Minho had of his cats on instagram, so that Seungmin knew what Dori looked like and he could use a pic of Dori to show people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After writing down some notes on the other cats and on Minho’s short description of what happened, Seungmin scrolled through Minho’s instagram to find a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of pictures of his cats, thank goodness. Inside the shop he saw one orange and white cat lounge around on the counter and another more orange cat walk around between the flowerpots, vases and show bouquets. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so I’m looking for the small dark grey cat, that’s easy. At least it’s not one of the orange two. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He searched for a good picture of Dori and then he left the shop. Minho was looking at him with eyebrows raised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't question my methods, okay?” Seungmin told him. “Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>have any idea where Dori could be? Has she ever run away before?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I have no idea… She's usually just here.” Minho shrugged, his voice a little strained, it was weird to see him worried. Minho then sniffed. “Ugh. Do you smell that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...No?” Seungmin frowned. “Unless you mean the flowers. I can definitely smell those.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No I mean the pizza! The pizza place has been keeping their door open lately and I can smell it all the way over here!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin wasn't sure if Minho was complaining or not, he probably was, but Seungmin didn't smell anything. He could imagine the smell of pizza didn't mix well with the smell of flowers, though. “Okay, I didn't know you had such a good sense of smell— the pizza place is not exactly next door— But if that's everything you want to say, I'll go investigate or whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, good luck, Detective Kim.” Minho nodded him goodbye with a sheepish smile. Seungmin murmured a thank you and waved at Minho before turning around and walking away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He decided to ask some of the people around the shop if they've seen Dori first. The town wasn't that big, surely someone had seen the little creature walking around. He knew everyone around town and everyone knew him and Minho, so at least it wouldn't be weird asking them for Dori. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The answers he got differed a lot from person to person, some people seemed to want to help even though they couldn't and just guessed a place where Dori might be. Some just commented on the cute outfit Dori had on in the instagram post that Seungmin was showing people— he changed to a picture of Dori without an outfit after the third time— but mostly he heard the park and the pizza place (and the flower shop, but Seungmin could cross that one off the list immediately).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The park is closer to the flower shop and Dori is still pretty small, so it’s more likely that she’s there if you take that in mind, the park is also not an uncommon place to find cats, but Minho mentioned the smell of pizza, and cats have a pretty good sense of smell, right? So it could also have been that Dori was hungry and smelled pizza, because Minho also mentioned that he had to feed them soon.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin’s gut told him to check the pizza place, but his rational brain told him it was more likely to find Dori playing in the park. He decided to go back to Minho to ask him one more question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Minho.” He approached the flower stand where Minho was still tending the flowers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, did you find Dori yet?” The older asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I just have two questions. Does Dori have any favorite foods? And does she like playing outside?” He asked, he should’ve definitely asked this earlier, but this was his first case, so he thought he deserved to be cut some slack.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dori really likes fish. And she likes playing, but not particularly outside.” Minho provided him as he rearranged some of the flowers in a bouquet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fish? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Okay, Seungmin had decided.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, see you in a bit.” Seungmin nodded and bid Minho goodbye again. “...Hopefully with Dori.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pizza place was not that close, but also not that far. Nothing was too far away from each other in their small town. As he approached the pizza place he could imagine Dori smelling pizza and getting hungry— the pizza always smelled </span>
  <em>
    <span>great</span>
  </em>
  <span>, no wonder they kept their door open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw someone sitting outside— someone he didn’t recognize, enjoying a tuna pizza at one of the tables just outside the place. She had sharp eyes, but looked pretty young, maybe about Seungmin’s age. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Weird to see a new face around here. It doesn’t look like she’s visiting family, she’s eating alone… Did she come here just for the pizza? It isn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>that</span>
  <em>
    <span> good, though.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin shouldn’t be wondering about new faces right now, though, he was on a case. A case to find Dori and—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow! Again?!” The girl exclaimed, bending down to look under the table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Would you look at that!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin dashed toward the table where he saw a little grey kitten jump at the girl’s legs and scratch them. He crouched near Dori and held out his hand before whispering to her. “Dori? Hey there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh… Your cute cat is hungry I think, she keeps scratching my legs because she wants my pizza. I don’t know if you’re supposed to feed cats pizza, though.” The girl said. Meanwhile Dori walked over to Seungmin’s hand to rub her little head against it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s not my cat though.” Seungmin answered the girl as he picked up Dori with a surprising amount of ease. The kitten purred softly in content in Seungmin’s hands. “And, uhh… We don’t see new faces here that often. My name’s Seungmin. May I ask who you are?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. My name is Yeji, but I just want to eat my tuna pizza in peace.” Yeji gave him a polite smile. “Cute cat, though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, I guess. Well, enjoy your pizza.” Seungmin told her, not really sure what to think. He shook his head and started making his way back to Minho. He lifted Dori up to his face a little and whispered to the kitten. “Don’t worry Dori, Minho will give you food when I return you to him. Were you </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> hungry? Or did that girl catch your attention?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dori meowed softly in response and suddenly she licked Seungmin’s face, making him wince a little. “Woah! ...Was that a yes or a no…?” Dori didn’t do anything to confirm or deny anything unfortunately, but he also couldn’t really investigate any further, because he was approaching the flower shop and Minho was laughing loudly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you laughing?” Seungmin frowned at the florist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>likes </span>
  </em>
  <span>you~! Look at that! Dori likes Seungminnie, huh? I guess you’ll give him enough love for the both of us.” Minho cooed at the kitten and Seungmin rolled his eyes, Minho always found ways to tease him. “Thank you, Seungmin. Where did you find her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was actually pretty interesting, there was a girl I didn’t recognize eating tuna pizza and she said Dori wanted a piece.” He explained as he handed over Dori to Minho. “Do you know a Yeji? She looked about my age.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeji…? No?” Minho nuzzled Dori a little, but she started meowing and Minho put her down. “Okay, okay, you can eat. Go ahead. I don’t have any tuna, though.” Dori ran into the shop and Minho turned to look at Seungmin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was that girl doing here?” He asked and Seungmin shrugged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She said she just wanted to eat her tuna pizza in peace. She didn’t say if she was planning to stay here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who would wanna stay here in this boring shithole, though?” Minho scoffed, but he knew the answer to that question, they both did. “Oh, that’s right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hyunjin </span>
  </em>
  <span>would. And, speaking about my lovely roommate and </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> crush—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s not—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“—I’ll make sure to tell him that you helped me find my precious little kitten! He’ll love it.” Minho sent him a wink before going back to work. Seungmin shook his head at the older before waving a hand at him and leaving. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He did secretly hope Hyunjin would think he was nice for helping Minho find his kitten, but that wasn’t why he did it. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, probably, but he was glad for this case, he could practice his deduction skills without any real consequences if he made a small mistake. Seungmin had learned to trust his gut a little more, but also to gather his thoughts first and then ask any questions to supplement them. He hoped this case had made him a little more ready for the real deal.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me when you got your first case! I thought we were in this together?” Felix squinted at him through the mirror. It looked funny, because Seungmin couldn’t see his arms under the cover-up he was wearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> in this together, Lix. It was a surprise case and it wasn’t that serious. I don’t know how you could have helped me find a cat. I didn’t really need your expertise on this one.” He answered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I get that my skill set wasn’t needed for that but, it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Minho is </span>
  <em>
    <span>super serious</span>
  </em>
  <span> about his cats!” Felix moved a little too much in his seat and Hyunjin had to keep him still so he wouldn’t get accidentally stabbed with a hair clipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know.” Seungmin shrugged casually, but he smiled as he saw Felix smile at him through the mirror. He was glad that Felix wasn’t too bummed by him not telling him about his first case immediately. Hyunjin chuckled at the sight of the two, and Seungmin’s heart could definitely handle that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Well, you’re acting pretty casual about it, but </span><em><span>I</span></em><span> think it’s sweet of you to help Minho out. He told me Dori was really happy about it too! How cute is that?” Hyunjin told him as he exchanged the hair clipper for a comb and started combing Felix’s hair, finishing up his haircut. His little smile </span><em><span>did</span></em> <em><span>things</span></em><span> to Seungmin.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I agree, very cute.” Felix smiled a knowing smile at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, yes. He had a crush on Hyunjin. He definitely had, but who could blame him? Ever since Hyunjin moved to their town, </span>
  <em>
    <span>god knows why</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he had made an impact. First, because nothing </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> happened here. Things like that the pizza place had a new recipe on their menu, or that someone dyed their hair made it into the local newspaper, that’s how boring things were in this tiny shitty town.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But even though it was a boring and tiny shitty town, not many actually put their plans to leave in action. Not Seungmin, not Felix, not Minho. Three of their friends, including Minho’s former flatmate, Chan, did make the decision to leave and follow their dreams of making music. Seungmin missed them a lot, they only contacted each other by sending a letter every couple of days, because apparently paying for an internet connection was too expensive for them?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anyway, Jisung usually wrote the letters, writing about what he, Changbin and Chan had been up to, or asking about what they had been up to at home. He thought writing letters had something romantic and personal to it. He sent them to Minho and Minho would send Seungmin and Felix a picture of the contents. Minho and Felix took it upon themselves to write back, always asking both Hyunjin and Seungmin if they had something to say as well. Hyunjin always declined, though, saying he wanted to wait until properly meeting them before introducing himself fully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan, Changbin and Jisung hadn't visited once after Hyunjin moved here, though. It had been a couple of months already and Seungmin and his friends really missed the three, they also really wanted them to meet Hyunjin. And maybe Jeongin, too— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait, Seungmin, you're getting distracted. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anyway, the point is that they didn’t expect Minho to get a new roommate, but he posted a message online that he was looking for one just in case someone in town wanted to move there. They didn't expect a (very handsome) young man of about Seungmin's age to physically come to Minho’s apartment and apply for being his flatmate. Hyunjin had told them that he was looking for somewhere quiet and peaceful to live a simple life, which honestly made Seungmin wonder if the boy wasn't actually ten years older than him, because what twenty something year old would be looking for a simple and peaceful life already? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Apparently Hyunjin. And thus he became Minho's roommate as well as the talk of the town for a week or two. Everyone liked him, both because of his attractive face and because of his nice personality, and Seungmin was no exception. Hyunjin eventually picked up a job at the hair salon, and although he didn't know anything about how to cut or style hair, he picked things up quickly and he was eager to learn. The other hairdressers couldn't stop talking about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Exactly that eagerness to learn, together with the passion he had for anything that was dear to him and his soft heart were the three main reasons Seungmin eventually found himself falling for the tall boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>But that was not</span> <span>what he should be thinking about right now. He should be thinking about his next case. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I appreciate getting a first case, but I want to solve more serious cases. Cases that Felix can help me with.” Seungmin told them. Hyunjin nodded as he brushed off any stray hairs on Felix's shoulders before unclipping the cover-up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get it, Min.” He mused, before his face lit up a little. He put down his stuff and turned to Seungmin. “Oh! That reminds me, I have a mystery for you to solve. And I have something to tell you guys.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix turned his chair around to look at Hyunjin properly, his eyes glistening with curiosity. Seungmin was also beginning to get pretty curious about what Hyunjin had in mind for them. Hyunjin grabbed a chair and placed it backwards to lean on the backrest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess what I— actually what </span>
  <em>
    <span>Minho </span>
  </em>
  <span>found in the mail yesterday! You guys know  how Minho always rushes to see what's in the mail, and usually there's nothing in it for me, but yesterday there was a letter addressed to me!” He smiled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, that's right. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin's heart suddenly sped up a whole lot and maybe he started sweating a little too. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I was… in a </span>
  </em>
  <span>mood </span>
  <em>
    <span>a couple of days ago. I blame Jisung and his stupid philosophy about the romance of letters for that. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Someone sent me a </span>
  <em>
    <span>love letter</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Hyunjin exclaimed and Felix shot up, looking at Hyunjin and Seungmin with wide eyes. Seungmin felt his head become a whole lot warmer suddenly, but he tried to act surprised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?! Woah! You're really bringing some action into the town!” Felix pulled Hyunjin into a hug, distracting him enough for Seungmin to calm himself down a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Does no one ever get a love letter around here? But your friend Jisung sends you guys letters all the time!” Hyunjin frowned, confused, but a rosy tint coloured his cheeks. “Does that mean this is a special occurrence…? But— I don't want to be in the newspaper again!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix laughed heartily at the taller. “I think you are the only one who is worried about being in the newspaper again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin huffed softly, crossing his arms. Then he looked at Seungmin. “It's actually also why I want to hire you two. I want you two to find out who wrote it, preferably discreetly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, of course. I should've definitely seen this coming. Gosh. I can't be a private investigator in a small town where nothing happens </span>
  </em>
  <span>and</span>
  <em>
    <span> send someone a love letter while trying to stay anonymous. I thought I was supposed to be smart. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why—Why do you want to know who wrote it?” Seungmin asked, cringing at his own stuttering. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keep it cool, Seungmin. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why wouldn't I want to know? I want to thank them!” Hyunjin answered and he and Felix were looking at Seungmin as if it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>obvious. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, if I were to investigate your love letter, I will have to read it, you don't mind that?” Seungmin hoped this would make Hyunjin rethink giving Seungmin the case, because he really didn’t know how he would go about investigating his own love letter, but his gut told him Hyunjin wouldn’t let it go this easily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, of course I don’t mind. I trust you.” Hyunjin assured him and Seungmin saw a sense of certainty in his eyes that he couldn’t quite place. “And, besides, I’m not smart enough to figure things out myself, so I need you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin felt like that wasn’t entirely true, though. Hyunjin wasn’t dumb. He always said he wasn’t that smart, but Seungmin thought Hyunjin was actually quite clever. He was definitely smart enough to figure out that Seungmin had written the love letter to him by himself, but if he wanted to hire Seungmin to find out who wrote it, Seungmin wasn’t really in a position to decline. He’d figure out how to handle things later. “Okay, I’ll help you. Felix, you in?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m in!” Felix nodded with a bright smile. Seungmin hadn’t told him about the love letter— he hadn’t told anyone— but he probably already figured. Hyunjin clapped his hands together excitedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great! I’ll pay you guys, of cour—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, don’t bother.” Seungmin cut him off, he wasn’t going to accept payment for investigating a letter he wrote himself. “You’re my friend, you don’t have to pay.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not really how you run a business, though, is it?” Hyunjin gave him a cheeky smile and then gave him a playful push to his shoulder. “Come on, let me thank you for helping me. I’ll let you think of a way after you’ve solved the case.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think that’s a great idea.” Felix approved, because of course he did. Seungmin tried his best not to analyze Hyunjin’s words, that would only drive him crazy. The older boy then stood up and brushed off his clothes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s good. I— I actually brought the letter with me so I could give it to you right away.” Hyunjin walked over to his bag and rummaged through it, only to pull out a neatly rolled up piece of paper, with a ribbon around it and all. It made Seungmin really happy (but also a little shy) to see how Hyunjin treated the letter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He handed it over to Seungmin. “You can read it now and take it with you, as long as you return it in a decent state, because I thought the letter was really sweet, so I’d like to keep it.” He chuckled and Seungmin nodded, hoping his blush wasn’t evident. He couldn't believe that Hyunjin was this happy with his letter. “I’ll clean up for a bit now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin walked away to get some cleaning supplies and clean up after the haircut and Seungmin let out a surprisingly deep sigh, his cheeks feeling </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Felix laughed and hugged him. “Seungminnie! You didn’t tell me you wrote him a letter! Why don’t you just tell him right away that it’s you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t just do that…” Seungmin pouted. He couldn’t just confess to Hyunjin, there was simply too much at stake. “What if I ruin it and he rejects me and things get awkward between us and it ruins our friendship? And what if he then wants to avoid me but this town is just too damn small for that and he realizes that he hates it here because he can’t avoid me and he moves out and we never see him again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix blinked at him, a little taken aback by the sudden rant. “Oh… Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay</span>
  </em>
  <span> drama king. I thought Hyunjin was more of a dramatic, but you just kicked him off the drama king throne.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up. It’s possible.” Seungmin murmured, his face still too warm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anything’s possible.” Felix shrugged, before he put on his thinking face. He then pointed a finger in the air and looked at Seungmin. “What if Hyunjin already knows it’s you and he just wants you to say it? It may be a little far fetched, but...” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, Hyunjin </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> pretty smart, although he says he’s not. It could be, but… I don’t know. I don’t know what to do yet. I just need to think.” He really wasn’t sure how to handle this right now, confessing seemed to be the logical option, no matter how he looked at the situation, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe I shouldn’t have sent that damn letter. But he was so happy with it… I really don’t know what to do.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay. I gotcha back.” Felix fondly patted his friend on the back. Seungmin knew Felix always had his back, it made him feel a little better, though. If Felix was there for him, maybe he could confess. Maybe.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.” Seungmin held out a neatly rolled up piece of paper, ribbon around it and all, just like how Hyunjin had given it to him. Hyunjin looked up at him in surprise before taking it with a little smile. Seungmin sat down at the small table across from Hyunjin. The taller boy was on his lunch break and Seungmin and he usually spent those together, because Hyunjin liked to have company.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin had asked him if he’d like it if he would bring some lunch for him the first time they had lunch together, but Seungmin told him they were meeting on </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> lunch break, so it would only be logical for Seungmin to bring </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> lunch, but Hyunjin insisted it’d be logical for him to bring Seungmin lunch since he was already supposed to bring himself lunch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It ended up with them agreeing on both making </span>
  <em>
    <span>each other</span>
  </em>
  <span> lunch, but not themselves. Ever since then it had become a habit for them to make each other lunch, and it was a surprise every time again. Seungmin felt like that by now he knew every little thing about Hyunjin’s likes and dislikes when it came to (lunch) food.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve read it and scanned it, so you can have it back.” Seungmin said as they exchanged lunch boxes. Hyunjin made him fried rice with vegetables, it smelled really good. Seungmin felt a little embarrassed about the mixed egg sandwich he made for Hyunjin now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, how’s it going with that? Making any progress?” Hyunjin asked him as he opened Seungmin’s pastel blue lunch box. It had a cute puppy on it and usually Seungmin would be shy to be seen with it in public, but with Hyunjin it didn’t matter. The other boy smiled as he saw the contents and sighed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Just</span>
  </em>
  <span> what I was craving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin couldn’t hold back a smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He wondered why he was so lucky to be able to make Hyunjin happy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felix is analyzing the handwriting right now, but we still need some more samples.” He lied. That’s what Felix would be doing if they didn’t already know who wrote it. “It’s hard, though, not many people write letters anymore. Except for Jisung.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right! You know, sometimes Minho says that he feels like he’s waiting for his husband to return from war. He’s thinking about using me as leverage to get them to visit for once, you know, telling them they’ll have to come and visit for them to meet me. Or invite us over.” Hyunjin snickered, but Seungmin could relate, he missed his friends. He was used to being able to see them whenever he felt like it, or whenever </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> felt like it. He hadn’t seen them in months, and reading their letters was just not the same as actually seeing his friends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You miss them?” Hyunjin read his mind. Seungmin nodded. “I get it, I miss Jeongin a lot too, but at least he comes to visit us frequently.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin. Seungmin also wanted Chan, Changbin and Jisung to meet him one day. Jeongin was the son of close friends of Hyunjin's family and he was really nice, Hyunjin and him were really close. Seungmin didn’t know any other friends of Hyunjin from before he moved here, he never talked about anyone other than Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But, uhm… about the love letter. You read it, right?” Hyunjin began, raising his eyebrows at Seungmin in question, who confirmed. “What did you think about it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What—? Uhh…” Seungmin stuttered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit, I didn’t prepare to answer a question like this. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hyunjin was looking at him expectantly, so he couldn’t possibly avoid answering. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stalling it is. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Do you want my professional opinion or my opinion as a friend, like what if I got a letter like that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The second one of course!” Hyunjin rolled his eyes exasperatedly before looking at Seungmin with a smile that said he wasn’t really annoyed. “You are my friend before you are my detective— before you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>a</span>
  </em>
  <span> detective.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay. I’m glad you think I’m more than my job—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>I think that!” Hyunjin dramatically put down his lunch, staring at Seungmin with wide eyes and open mouth. “Who do you think I am, Minnie?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just kidding~” Seungmin giggled, Hyunjin could be so dramatic sometimes, although he was probably just playing around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now stop stalling and tell me what you thought of the letter.” Hyunjin told him sternly before continuing his lunch, he had seen right through Seungmin again. Maybe Seungmin was just easy to read, maybe Hyunjin was just attentive, maybe Seungmin just let his guard down around Hyunjin, or maybe all of the above.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, I’ll stop stalling.” Seungmin relented. He took a breath, willing himself not to blush this time. “I thought the letter was very sweet, I… I get why someone would write it to you. I mean… yeah, I could feel that the person who wrote it was sincere, I guess? What— What did </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> think of it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The same thing, actually. It was really sweet and I feel like the person who wrote it knows me well.” Hyunjin leaned his head on his hand, smiling while thinking about the contents of the letter and Seungmin's stomach did a double somersault. “I feel like they listen to me when I talk and they know what I like.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my goodness. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin was about to combust on the spot, his whole body felt warm and his insides were doing acrobatics. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Does he know I wrote it? He said this to me once, but does that mean that he knows? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have an idea who could have written it?” Seungmin asked hesitantly, trying to not explode while making eye contact with Hyunjin. He didn't have to try for long, though, because Hyunjin moved his gaze down to his hands, his cheeks colouring a slight pink, his lips twitching up into a bashful smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would I hire you if I already knew who wrote the letter?” Hyunjin murmured after a moment of silence, a smile still adorning his pretty face. Seungmin wasn't sure if he was asking Seungmin this or if it was a rhetorical question. Seungmin didn't know the answer to that question, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To be sure about it before you confront them?” Seungmin guessed, out loud. He wasn't sure if he meant to say it out loud, but he was curious. He needed to know if Hyunjin was onto him or not— He needed to know </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>about Hyunjin's thoughts on who wrote the letter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin didn't answer him, though. He just smiled that gosh darn beautiful smile of his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have someone you </span>
  <em>
    <span>hope</span>
  </em>
  <span> wrote the letter?” Seungmin asked instead, hoping he'd get an answer this time. He hoped that he wasn't pushing, but Hyunjin didn't look uncomfortable, so things should be fine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I do. I'll tell you about it after you've figured out who wrote it. I don't want to jinx the investigation.” He gave an answer this time, although not a clear one, but Seungmin understood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You— You do know that this is a small town, right? And, that if it's not the person that you’re hoping it is, you won't be able to easily avoid the person who did write it, in case things get awkward.” Seungmin said, and he hoped Hyunjin wouldn't see that he was kinda nervous about his response. Hyunjin tilted his head in question. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What does that have to do with anything, though? I can reject someone without things getting awkward hopefully. If someone sent me a sweet letter like this, I'm sure they will be understanding if I don't have feelings for them. Why would I want to avoid someone like that?” Hyunjin said it as if it was obvious, but Seungmin felt a big weight fall off of his shoulders. It made him feel like he was ready to confess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think so? Because they— Uhh, if someone has strong feelings for you, it might get awkward. You might realize you actually really want to get out of this shitty town.” Seungmin needed just a little more certainty that things wouldn't go to hell if he would confess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? You're worried that I'll leave? </span>
  <em>
    <span>No way</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Hyunjin exclaimed. “My life has become so much better since I moved here! I have great friends and my biggest worries are if I'm going to be in the newspaper again or when I'm going to meet my friends' friends or when Jeongin comes to visit. I wouldn't leave you guys because of a love letter, it doesn't matter how sweet I think it is, or how awkward it gets— although I’m sure that that won't happen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wow. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Okay, Seungmin would definitely keep that in mind. He felt a little embarrassed that he underestimated their friendship like this, though. Hyunjin was pretty passionate about his friends, Seungmin knew that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, sorry. I just… was thinking about worst-case-scenarios.” Seungmin chuckled awkwardly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” Hyunjin closed the lunch box and returned it to Seungmin. Seungmin quickly cleaned up for himself and returned Hyunjin’s lunch box too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have to go back to the salon now, so I’ll see you later, Minnie!” The taller boy gathered his stuff and ruffled Seungmin’s head fondly before waving him goodbye with a bright smile. “Thank you for returning the letter, byebye!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was decided. Seungmin would confess to Hyunjin tomorrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Seungmin was rummaging through his notes in search for some things he could show Hyunjin today while he was on the phone with Felix, his phone hooked between his ear and his right shoulder. “I don’t really have many notes on real cases yet, and I don’t know if I should show my college notes… Maybe I should just tell him upfront that it’s me? Do you think he’ll believe me without any evidence?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course he will! Why would you lie to him?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix assured him through the phone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Didn’t you say you were wondering if he already knew too? Like, I don’t want to say that you’re obvious when you show your favoritism for Hyunjin, but you treat him differently than you treat us. Maybe he has caught onto that as well. But maybe not. Long story short</span>
  </em>
  <span>— </span>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t need any evidence I think.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right. But the reason I treat everyone differently is because people </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> different. Not everyone’s ideals are the same, so—” Seungmin began.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah, yeah. I know. I meant you could kinda tell that you really like Hyunjin from the way you treat him. At least, Minho and I could.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix interrupted him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I figured that Minho had found out too somehow.” He sighed deeply, leaving his stuff alone. Felix was right, he wouldn’t need any evidence to tell Hyunjin that he had written the letter, Hyunjin would believe him without. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So, you’re going to tell him today?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix asked after a moment of silence. That’s right, Seungmin had said that. Today would be a good day since Hyunjin had the day off, but Minho did work today, so Hyunjin would probably be alone in the apartment today. Seungmin had also already texted Hyunjin if he could come by to show him some of the progress of the case today, so he couldn’t really back out now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” He said, trying to keep his voice steady, but nerves took over a little. “Will— Will you come with me? For emotional support?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin heard Felix giggle on the other side of the line, and he slumped a little. He just couldn’t help but be nervous to tell Hyunjin about his feelings, he wasn’t the best with confrontations like that. He could relate to others and their situations and feelings easily, but saying his own feelings out loud had always been a </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> for Seungmin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes. Anytime.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix answered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Do you wanna go now? Get things over with?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I told Hyunjin I’d stop by sometime in the afternoon, so now would be good.” Seungmin agreed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Let’s get this over with.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’ll meet you in front of Minho’s building?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, see you in a couple of minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A lot of thoughts raced through Seungmin’s head in the couple of minutes between hanging up and the arrival of Felix in front of the apartment building where Minho and Hyunjin lived. It was just a couple of buildings away from where both Seungmin and Felix lived, just across from the pizza place. (No wonder Minho could </span>
  <em>
    <span>complain</span>
  </em>
  <span> about the smell of pizza sometimes.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He thought about every possible outcome to confessing, which wasn’t the best plan he had ever had, so he resorted to thinking about other things, like the fact that they had agreed to Hyunjin thinking of a form of payment after Seungmin had solved the case. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh shit. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maybe he could still get out of that by saying he technically didn’t solve any case if things were to go sideways.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar voice. Felix came jogging up to him and greeted him with a pat on the back. “Hey man, you ready?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin sighed, he was as ready as he could get, but before he could answer, he saw someone exit the building. Seungmin called out to her. “Hey! Momo, keep the door open!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Momo turned to look at the two boys. “Oh! Hi, Seungmin, Felix. Are you guys visiting Hyunjin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he’s home, right?” Seungmin told her while he and Felix jogged to the door to keep it open so Momo wouldn’t have to anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I saw him go out this morning, but I heard sounds coming from the apartment earlier, so I believe he’s back. I’m going out now, so bye!” She waved them goodbye and Felix and Seungmin entered the building. They climbed the stairs to the third floor and approached Hyunjin and Minho’s apartment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin took a deep breath. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, now’s the time. You can do it.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix whispered some encouraging words to him as he raised his hand to knock, but he didn’t really hear what he was saying, because he was distracted by the fact that the door was slightly ajar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin lowered his hand and did a retake on the door and yes, the door was really open. Suddenly he shivered. Felix frowned at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin? Come on, why aren’t you knocking?” Felix took a step closer, but Seungmin held up his hand to stop him. His gut told him something was off. It could be nothing, but he had resolved to listen to his gut more often. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Momo said that Hyunjin went out this morning, but that she heard sounds coming from the apartment earlier… Did he just forget to close the door when he came back, or…?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait. The door’s open.” Seungmin whispered and Felix got the hint. Seungmin leaned forward to listen if there was someone in the apartment, but he couldn’t hear anything coming from inside, that was probably a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span> sign, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t hear anything.” Felix confirmed for him, looking at Seungmin with a slightly afraid look. Seungmin pressed his lips together, his heart was bouncing harshly against his ribcage. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What if something happened?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket, feeling around for the latex gloves he carried around ever since his professors on forensic science had scared him into doing so. He slipped them onto his hands, just in case.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing…?” His friend whispered shaklily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just a precaution.” Seungmin told him as he inspected the door further. The lock seemed broken, but then again the lock was old and fragile, Minho had complained about it multiple times. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve gotta go inside.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I’m going to open the door, uhm. Be careful, Lix.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He carefully pushed the door open and they were met with a sight that made Seungmin’s stomach drop. The apartment was absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>trashed</span>
  </em>
  <span>, papers were spread everywhere, every drawer in sight was open, chairs were pushed over, even the seating of the couch was thrown across the room. The doors to the bedrooms were open too, and Seungmin saw clothes spread out all over the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.” Felix breathed out. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s right. Fuck. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin stepped foot inside the apartment and quickly but carefully looked around every room to check if there was anyone inside. He wasn’t mentally prepared to fight anyone, he liked to call himself a nonviolent private investigator, (he technically was a forensic scientist, after all) but he knew that there was the possibility that he had to fight someone and if it was to protect Hyunjin, he would do it. Prepared or not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as he saw that nobody was inside and he couldn't spot anyone suspicious just outside the apartment, he let out a breath, </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank goodness no burglars</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and motioned Felix, who had been watching him from the hallway timidly, to come inside. Meanwhile he pulled one glove off of his hand so he could use it to dial Hyunjin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit man, did they get robbed? Where’s Hyunjin?” Felix looked around with a concerned look on his face. “By the way, if there were people still inside, I would’ve come to help you fight them with my taekwondo skills after calling the police.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded absentmindedly, not really processing what Felix was saying, he was kind of a talker when he was nervous, while Seungmin usually got quiet when he was nervous or worried. Now he felt like he was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>explode</span>
  </em>
  <span> if Hyunjin wouldn’t pick up his phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey there, this is Hyunjin, I’m not here right now, so leave a message</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin hung up and redialed Hyunjin’s number. Felix was vibrating next to him. “Is— Is he not picking up?” Seungmin didn’t want to answer that yet, there was still a chance he just missed it. He concentrated on keeping his breathing calm as he listened to the ringing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey there, this is Hyunjin</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ring… ring… ring… ring… ring…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey there</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin would’ve probably crushed his phone if it wasn’t for Felix stopping him. “Calm down, Seungmin! Stop. You’ve gotta figure out what happened. You can’t do that if you’re stressed like this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix was right. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. Maybe Hyunjin wasn’t gone, maybe he was. Either way, he, and Minho too, probably needed Seungmin’s help with figuring out what happened to their apartment, but he wouldn’t be able to help if he was going crazy because he was thinking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘what if’s</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He needed to clear his mind and figure out what happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 1</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the end of the first (long) intro chapter!! do let me know what you thought~~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Detective lesson hashtag one, don't jump to conclusions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Hmmh. It looks a lot like a burglary, but let's not jump to conclusions so soon.” Seungmin said. </p><p>“Right. Detective lesson hashtag one, don't jump to conclusions.” Felix corrected, waving around his arms vaguely. </p><p>“Exactly— Wait, hashtag one?” Seungmin stopped writing for a second to look at Felix, his eyebrows twitching into a frown. </p><p>“Number sign, hashtag, same thing.” Felix shrugged.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Seungmin and Felix start investigating Minho and Hyunjin's apartment and start looking for Hyunjin. </p><p>Enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Okay.” Seungmin clapped his hands together after putting on his glove again. He then pulled out his notebook and pen to start writing. “Let's write down what we know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh… We came here about five minutes ago, the door was open, but there wasn't anyone inside or just outside the apartment. Momo told us that she saw Hyunjin going out this morning and that she heard noise coming from the apartment some time before we arrived. Every room is trashed, even the bathroom, so it looks like whoever was in here was looking for something and was in a hurry, which is understandable since it's the middle of the day.” Felix summarized as Seungmin took notes of everything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmmh. It looks a lot like a burglary, but let's not jump to conclusions so soon.” Seungmin said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. Detective lesson hashtag one, don't jump to conclusions.” Felix corrected, waving around his arms vaguely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Exactly— Wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>hashtag </span>
  </em>
  <span>one?” Seungmin stopped writing for a second to look at Felix, his eyebrows twitching into a frown. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Number sign, hashtag, same thing.” Felix shrugged. “What I'm trying to say is that I'll keep it at sitting behind my computer and helping you for the most part. I think that's more my strong suit, rather than thinking and stuff, but I'm keen to help you out in the field if you tell me what to do. Anyway, uhh… Did I miss anything in my summary?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix. First of all, I appreciate you being here with me, and I appreciate any thoughts you have on the situation. Second of all, have you seen Minho today?” Seungmin thought it was nice to have someone physically by his side in a situation like this. Someone had broken into Minho and Hyunjin's apartment and Hyunjin was missing as far as they knew, this was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>real deal</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not something small like finding a cat or finding out who wrote a letter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhm, yeah, I saw him this morning when I was out to buy some groceries. It was a couple of hours ago, though. Should I call him?” Felix pulled out his phone and showed it to Seungmin with a questioning look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, put him on speaker, please.” Seungmin wrote down what Felix had told him and then he focused on the ringing of the phone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good grief I hope Minho's okay. </span>
  </em>
  <span>After a couple of seconds Minho picked up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank goodness.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey Lix, what’s up? You know I’m at work right now, right? I can’t talk for long.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho sounded okay, he probably had no idea what was going on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know. Oh, you’re on speaker, by the way. I’m with Seungmin in your apartment.” Felix told him, looking at Seungmin briefly before offering him the phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey there, Detective Kim. Are you going to tell Hyunjin who wrote him the love letter</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin rolled his eyes.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Wait… Is he listening?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that was the plan at first. And no, he isn’t listening— That’s actually what we wanted to ask you. Have you seen Hyunjin? Do you know where he is?” Seungmin still had hope that Hyunjin was just on a walk somewhere and didn’t hear his phone or something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hyunjin isn’t home yet? Last time I saw him was this morning before I went to work and he said he was going on a walk, but haven't seen him since. He was looking forward to seeing you this afternoon, so I don’t know where he could be if he isn’t home.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>That wasn’t good, but that still didn’t mean anything was wrong with Hyunjin perse. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, if Hyunjin isn’t with you, how did you guys get into our apartment?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Momo held the door for us downstairs and…” Felix began, but he trailed off, looking around at the mess. He probably wasn’t sure how to word it. “When we arrived at your apartment, the door was open.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What? But I’m sure I locked it when I went to work. I clearly remember being frustrated with the lock again.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho’s voice began to betray that he was getting suspicious. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What’s going on guys? Spill it.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We haven’t had the chance to investigate a lot, but there seems to have been a break-in. I’m guessing you guys didn’t make an absolute mess of your apartment </span>
  <em>
    <span>yourselves</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Seungmin told him and Felix gave him his phone before he walked towards the front door, phone still in his gloved hand, maneuvering around the mess, making sure not to step on anything. Luckily the way to the door was quite clean. He tried closing the door and locking it from the inside, but the lock didn’t seem to do anything. “I think your lock is broken.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shit.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho cursed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And Hyunjin?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He isn’t picking up his phone.” Felix called over with a grimace on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fuck. Thank god my cats are here</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> Wait, do you guys think Hyunjin was there</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> No, you know what. I’m closing the shop and coming home. See you guys in a minute.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Wait wait wait, Minho, before you hang up!” Seungmin quickly said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is kind of a crime scene right now, so… uhm. Your cats can’t come in. And you can’t touch anything until we’ve investigated here.” He hoped Minho would cooperate a little, he could be stubborn, but he had common sense, so it should be good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I know, I’m not dumb. I’ll text my parents to come pick my cats up. I’ll even take a couple of pairs of latex gloves to wear with me, because I know you’re obsessed. See you guys in a minute!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho hung up for real this time and Seungmin gave Felix his phone back before scribbling down some notes about the lock and about Minho’s testimony. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the couple of minutes it took until Minho arrived, Felix and Seungmin worked together to scour through the rooms in search for something obviously out of the ordinary, but there wasn’t really anything. The windows were fine, but except for the obvious mess, there weren’t any objects out of place. It was actually remarkable </span>
  <em>
    <span>how much</span>
  </em>
  <span> of a mess the robbers had managed to make.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Minho said when he arrived at the doorway, putting his backpack down. He was already wearing gloves, Seungmin noticed. Seungmin was a little surprised that he actually came prepared, because he thought that Minho might have been joking. Felix ran over to him to fetch a pair of gloves as well. Maybe Seungmin should start carrying an extra pair as well. Felix started telling Minho everything they had found out so far. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It looks a lot like a robbery, although I have no idea what they’ve taken.” Seungmin commented. “They’ve gone a little far, though, they’ve literally turned everything inside out, even got the duvet out of the cover and everything. It’s as if they were looking for something specific, something you would hide somewhere safe.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Weird. I literally own nothing valuable except for my cats. I don’t even have expensive jewelry—” Minho walked through the house, inspecting it with a grimace. He entered his bedroom, gesturing to his wardrobe, until he stopped abruptly. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh gosh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Where are my earrings? God damn it, those aren’t even worth </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho irritatedly threw his hands in the air before walking over to Hyunjin’s bedroom and rolling his eyes. “They took his jewelry too. Lazy bastards.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lazy?” Felix questioned while Minho inspected the rooms further to see if anything was missing. “I thought they were pretty thorough with turning everything inside out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but they weren’t really thorough with making this look like a simple robbery— There isn’t anything else obviously missing besides our jewelry, by the way.” Minho commented. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh? He also thinks this isn’t a simple robbery? Well, it’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of </span>
  <em>
    <span>obvious.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Felix looked between Seungmin and Minho with a confused expression. “Please explain it to me, I’m a little slow on the deduction thing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho and Seungmin looked at each other with raised eyebrows, silently asking each other to explain. Minho motioned Seungmin to go on, but Seungmin shook his head. “Please, Minho, explain. I’m interested in your thoughts, too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever. Okay, well, as we all noticed, they’ve been pretty thorough with flipping our whole apartment upside down, but as a robber, I would want to get what I want and then get the heck out of here before anyone notices.” Minho began explaining. So far so good, Felix probably knew this as well, he just hadn’t connected the dots yet. “Our jewelry was pretty much on display in our rooms, so they weren’t looking only for our ‘valuables’. But I think they weren’t even looking for any valuables to begin with, because they didn’t even take our laptops. Like, lazy much?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was right, Seungmin had concluded as much as well. The people who had broken into here were looking for something specific, but they wanted to make it look like a simple robbery. They couldn’t find what they were looking for, though, or if they could, it was in the last place they looked. There were still a lot of unanswered questions though, Seungmin wasn’t sure where to start.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What were they looking for, then?” Felix asked. A good and simple question, but probably much more difficult to answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I honestly have no idea.” Minho sighed. This probably wasn’t the right question to start with. Maybe they should start with the question that was most likely connected to a time limit. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where is Hyunjin?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, let’s start with Hyunjin.” Seungmin announced and immediately got the other two’s attention. “We should ask around if </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> has seen him today, or anyone who might know where he went.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. I can ask around— And in the meantime I can look if I can track his phone. I’m not really good at this deduction thing anyway.” Felix said and took off his gloves and handed them over to Minho. “Minho, you can stay here and help Seungmin figure out what happened here, I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded, that’d be good. Felix wished them luck and walked out of the door, already muttering a plan to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, so I’ll make sure I’ll be notificated when Hyunjin’s phone is found while I’m asking people about him. That is, if his phone is even on… Oh! I need to bring a notebook to…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as Felix left, Seungmin focused on the apartment again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so what question to focus on next? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He needed some guidance while investigating, since the general investigation didn’t result in much. Having a question helped him focus, and helped him keep his mind off of Hyunjin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think Hyunjin was here when they broke in?” Minho pulled him out of his thoughts. His voice was soft and slightly strained, it wasn’t a nice thought, Hyunjin being here during a break-in. Seungmin got nervous again for a second, before he willed himself to think logically again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t think so. Momo told us she heard noises come from the apartment, but she didn’t question it. If Hyunjin was here, he would’ve screamed or something.” Seungmin reasoned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Even if it were people he knew, he would have resisted, right? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“There isn’t anything broken, no signs of a struggle.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. That’s good?” Minho let out a breath, the last part of his sentence coming out more as a general question than a statement. Seungmin sure hoped that it was good. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so what now…? What were they looking for or how did they get in…?” Seungmin wondered out loud. He trailed off, suddenly realizing something important. “Wait a second. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jesus. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m stupid sometimes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I forgot to check if there were any other apartments that were robbed or open. It could help us a lot with figuring out both how they got in and what they were looking for.” Seungmin explained and Minho nodded. “I’ll go take a quick look for any open doors, you should stay here in case they come back.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yay, fun.” Minho deadpanned, but he didn’t resist. Seungmin couldn’t really tell what he was thinking, but he must be still processing the situation. Seungmin wondered if he could somehow help, but the most he could do was probably figure out what happened, Minho would tell him if he could do anything else for him, hopefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be careful.” They told each other simultaneously and Minho rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, making Seungmin chuckle. “Go, Seungmin! I’ll be fine. Get outta here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, I’m going!” Seungmin waved him off and swiftly left the apartment. He started with the neighbouring apartment, Minho and Hyunjin’s apartment was the first one on the third floor, and there weren’t many apartments in the building, the third floor was also the top one, so it shouldn’t take too long to go past all of them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unless all of them have been robbed.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt a wave of sadness wash over him as he approached the neighbouring apartment, though. This was where Jisung and Changbin used to live, and where Seungmin also spent a big part of his college years. Minho and Chan also spent a lot of time there, solely for the sake of being together with their friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The apartment was vacant now, because not a lot of moving occured in their town, neither moving in nor out. Seungmin was really glad Minho had found a new roommate, though, because it must’ve become pretty lonely for him all of a sudden— </span>
  <em>
    <span>I should really stop thinking about this.</span>
  </em>
  <span> A fact was that the apartment was vacant and also emptied out except for the big and heavy furniture, there was nothing valuable in there, but Seungmin still decided to inspect it and—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door was ajar, similar to how Minho and Hyunjin’s front door was. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no, did they really go to every apartment that no one was in? They wouldn’t, right? That would be way too much work.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin listened closely if he could hear anything, just to be sure that no one was in there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t hear anything, so he gently pushed the front door open and stepped into the apartment. Nothing caught his eye immediately, so he tried to close the door behind him and it clicked nicely into the lock, just as it was supposed to. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh, wait, so have they been here?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin frowned and looked around. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why was the door open? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He then spotted a piece of wood on the floor, the same colour as the floorboards, and he recognized it to be a cheap doorstop. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, so that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>why</span>
  <em>
    <span> the door was open, but how did it get there? Who placed it there? The same people who broke into Minho’s place? And how did they get in here in the first place?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin looked around the place some more, opened the cabinets and looked for anything out of the ordinary— the usual. He thought that maybe there was less dust on everything than you would expect, but he wasn’t sure how much there was supposed to be. Something that </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> catch his eye was the fact that one of the windowsills was way less dusty than the others. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the one under the window that could open. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gotcha.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin got closer to inspect the window and he tried opening it and found that it went surprisingly easy, way easier than at Minho’s place. He tried locking it, but he couldn’t, the lock was broken. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so they probably got in via this apartment, and they used the doorstop so they could get out this way as well.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The window looked out towards an empty alley at the side of the building and the rooftop of the building next to it, so it was the perfect opportunity to climb in without being noticed. The empty apartment also provided a good escape opportunity in case someone would see them, since the lock still worked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked past the rest of the apartments quickly to confirm his theory a little more and he indeed saw no other front doors ajar. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jesus, I’m lucky they forgot to double check if the doorstop was still holding the door open, otherwise I wouldn’t have figured out how they probably got in. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had nothing to do outside of Minho’s apartment anymore, so he decided to go back to Minho and fill him in. Maybe Felix had some updates, too. He entered the apartment and started telling Minho about what he had found. He saw Minho type on his phone, but he was also listening, so Seungmin continued. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Seungmin finished, Minho looked up and he gave him a light nod. The older boy's expression was strained, his eyes dull, and Seungmin’s stomach dropped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What.” Seungmin croaked out, negative expressions on Minho’s face were never good. In fact, it always meant something </span>
  <em>
    <span>really really</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad if the reason wasn't because Minho was in a high place. Last time Minho had such an expression on his face was when one of his cats was sick, and the time before was just after Chan, Changbin and Jisung had moved out. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bad.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho chewed on his bottom lip a bit, eyes flicking down to his buzzing phone again, but his expression didn’t clear up. He whispered something, but it was too soft for Seungmin to hear properly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho. What.” Seungmin repeated, a little more urgently. Minho sighed deeply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> to tell you or do you want to read it yourself?” The older boy presented him with a difficult choice. It would probably be better for Minho if Seungmin would read it himself, though, so he held out his hand and motioned for Minho to hand over the phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were messages from Felix, just as Seungmin had predicted. That meant this was about Hyunjin, just as Seungmin feared it was. He mentally prepared himself for a second before reading the first message.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Hyunjin’s phone is off</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Can’t track it</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Asked a lot of people if they’ve seen him/know where he is but most of them have seen him last this morning around 7 / 8</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Checked the salon but they haven’t seen him today</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I found Momo and she said that she heard the sounds in the apartment around 1, maybe a little before, so not that long before we came’</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That was bad. That was very bad. It wasn’t like Hyunjin didn’t stand out in this gossipy town, people here would even notice him doing his </span>
  <em>
    <span>groceries</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘People did say they saw a couple of people they didn’t recognize lately</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>First a girl at the pizza place a couple of days ago and today some people saw some plumbers they didn’t recognize</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The girl at the pizza place hasn’t been spotted after that’</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A girl at the pizza place, Yeji was her name, and then plumbers. The plumber-thing was probably a cover for the people who had broken into the apartment, but what about the girl? Did she have anything to do with this or was she just a girl who liked pizza? The unknowns were already driving him crazy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should remember to write this all down, too. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Texted Jeongin too but he hasn’t responded yet</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just called Jeongin but he hasn’t heard anything from Hyunjin</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He didn’t really have time to talk though he seemed to have some concerns on his own</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He did want us to update him if we know what happened to him</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry guys I think Hyunjin is missing</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I'll come back’—</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't even bother to read the last message completely. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No no no no!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Why did Seungmin’s gut have to be right again? Everything pointed to Hyunjin missing, but how? Did the same people who broke into the apartment take him? But people hadn’t seen him after eight in the morning, while Momo said she heard sounds in the apartment almost five hours after that. She also didn’t hear Hyunjin screaming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin had told Minho that he would go on a walk and he hadn’t been seen after. Did he disappear on his own? </span>
  <em>
    <span>No. He told me he wouldn’t leave us yesterday. That </span>
  </em>
  <span>can’t</span>
  <em>
    <span> be it. Right? It cannot be.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His thoughts soon grew chaotic and messy as he realized the situation he was in. Hyunjin was </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone</span>
  </em>
  <span>. No one knew where he had gone, he may have been kidnapped or he may have left by himself and Seungmin didn't know which one of those two options was worse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tears pricked in his eyes and he tried to blink them away while he returned the phone to the owner. “Okay, so—” Seungmin's voice broke. He swallowed and tried again, ignoring his painfully beating heart and his tight chest. “Okay. What were they looking for?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin.” Minho said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? No— they— they weren't looking for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I mean…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Seungmin.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Again. He felt a hand touch his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Seungmin whipped his head toward his friend and he was met with a blurry view of glassy eyes and a stern expression. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Since when had it become so hard to breathe? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Look, Minho, if you don't know, just say so, because I really don't know either—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin, take a break, will you? Just ten minutes, okay? Have a good cry or something, I don't know, give Felix a hug, anything. Just let yourself take a minute and process.” Minho told him softly, and Seungmin realized he was already crying. He pulled Minho into a hug and began sobbing into his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don't have time— I need to solve this— I need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>help</span>
  </em>
  <span> him!” He spoke, his words muffled by Minho’s shirt. The older boy stayed quiet, but returned the hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin almost didn't hear the footsteps approaching the apartment, but a familiar voice already sounded before he could check who it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry I'm late I just was a little sad and that makes me chaotic and— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Soon Seungmin felt another body wrap around him, hugging way more tightly than Minho.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At least I can make myself useful by providing hugs.” Felix whispered shakily, lightening the mood a little. They all chuckled a little. Felix was sniffling softly while he caressed his friends to soothe them. “It’s okay to be sad, guys, but we’ll find him. I’m sure of it. You’ll get to confess, Seungmin. And you won’t be alone again, Minho.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin bit down on his lower lip harshly at the mention of his plans for today. He heard Minho let out a whimper, so he gripped a little tighter. The three of them stayed like that for a while, letting their emotions out, letting themselves calm down a bit before continuing the investigation. It was nice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix scanned the most important places of the apartment, like door knobs and handles of drawers and stuff, to look for fingerprints. In the meantime Minho and Seungmin talked some more about what the people who had broken in could have been looking for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Could it be information?” Seungmin wondered out loud. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But why didn’t they take our laptops then?” Minho countered. “That’s an obvious place to store valuable information.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A good modern criminal knows how to hack a simple laptop nowadays, though.” Felix commented from where he was scanning a cabinet for prints. “It’s not that hard. It’s also not that hard to copy whatever’s on the laptop onto a hard drive and leave.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And not taking a laptop could help you hide what you’re looking for. Especially if they don’t know if the things they’re looking for are on a laptop or not. And these people obviously didn’t know where it was, whatever they were looking for.” Seungmin reasoned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus. That makes our life a little harder.” The older boy sighed. It did, especially since it made it harder to figure out </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> they were even looking for information rather than a specific object. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If they were looking for information, I would think it has something to do with Hyunjin, it would explain his disappearance. Either they took him or he fled.” Seungmin wrote their clues regarding what they could be looking for down under the corresponding question in his notebook. “I still don’t understand why Hyunjin disappeared such a long time before they broke into the apartment, though? Do the two events have nothing to do with each other at all?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think we need more Felix to get any further.” Minho said and turned to the younger boy. Felix turned to them with wide eyes, pointing a finger at himself questioningly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me?” Felix blinked and Minho nodded. Seungmin guessed the florist was right, because he didn’t know what to do right now. They didn’t really have a clear lead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhm… I can’t find any fingerprints from recently. They probably wore gloves, though. I’ll try searching Hyunjin’s laptop for anything suspicious, but it’s best if I do it at home.” Felix told the other two. “I can check your laptop too, Minho. Do you want to come with me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, uhm, I think I’ll get someone to fix the lock first, but I’ll come over after.” Minho said, standing up from where he was sitting on a couch cushion on the floor. “What about you, Seungmin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin frowned. “I feel like we’re missing something we could figure out in the apartment, though. What is something that could be of value, maybe not for us, but for Hyunjin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho and Felix thought for a second before the younger of the two spoke up. “Your love letter? He said he wanted it back in a good state after we’d investigate it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Right</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Hyunjin was really happy with that! Where is it?” Minho immediately began searching through Hyunjin’s bedroom again. Seungmin doubted that someone else would see value in Seungmin’s letter that he wrote for Hyunjin, but he guessed that every little clue could help. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a couple of minutes Minho announced the letter was nowhere to be found. “I have no idea why anyone would want to steal your letter, so maybe Hyunjin took it with him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was exactly what I was thinking as well, but I don’t think we should focus on the letter to figure out where Hyunjin went. I think searching his laptop will be more useful.” Seungmin said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t think so. I think this is useful. Why would Hyunjin take the letter with him if he was going for a walk at freaking seven o’clock in the morning? I wasn’t even awake and I was the one who needed to go to work, not him.” Minho countered. It was an interesting question, Seungmin hadn’t really thought about the walk being too suspicious— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Actually</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that wasn’t entirely true, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> found it suspicious, but he didn’t think he could really deduce something useful from it. Now his mind was racing again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did he…?” Seungmin began hesitantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did he </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Plan this? But he told you he wouldn’t leave!” Felix was right, he couldn’t have planned his disappearance, right? He would leave a clue behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Unless the fact that he took the letter </span>
  </em>
  <span>is</span>
  <em>
    <span> the clue he left behind.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe something happened and he didn’t know how to assess the situation, so he took the letter with him just in case things would go sideways?” Minho reasoned, but Seungmin could see that he was just blindly guessing. It was hard to figure out what Hyunjin would do in a situation they didn’t know the details about. “It could also just be that he had left it in his coat when he went on the walk… What do you think, Seungmin? </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> are the detective.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I am. But I don’t know. I really don’t know right now. I’ll write it down and gather my thoughts while you guys search the laptop for more clues. It would also help if you make sure there isn’t anything missing from the apartment that you know of, Minho.” Seungmin said and his friends nodded in understanding. “I’ll come back and take some pictures of the mess here too, just in case we’ve missed something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all went their separate ways for now, but they’d reconvene soon enough, Seungmin guessed. It was looking like an impossible task to solve these two cases, the break-in and Hyunjin’s disappearance, Seungmin didn’t even know if he should view them as separate or not, but they hadn’t checked everything yet. There were always clues to find, one just needed to figure out where to look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t worry Hyunjin, I’ll come find you. </span>
  </em>
  <span>We </span>
  <em>
    <span>will come find you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 2</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... what do you guys think? Any theories already? </p><p>Next chapter the day after tomorrow again!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. So remember guys, even if you delete your history, there’s still a way to find out what you’re doing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Hey. I couldn’t find anything else missing from the apartment, apart from the jewelry and the love letter.” Minho told him immediately. “I don’t know if something from Hyunjin is missing, but if it is, it isn’t something that I know he owns.”</p><p>“Okay. That’s… good? I guess.” Seungmin nodded, this didn’t really help him getting a new lead, but maybe Minho was at Felix’s already and he could update him on that situation. “What about Felix? Did he find anything?” </p><p>“He’s still working on it, because apparently Hyunjin has the function ‘automatically delete history’ enabled on his browsers, so Felix has to do a little more digging.” Minho said and Seungmin could hear that Minho had his phone on speaker, because he heard Felix’s rapid typing and clicking in the background.</p><p>“You might want to come over, too, because Felix has just found Hyunjin’s provider, so he can track the last place his phone was when it was on or something.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello friends!<br/>More investigating, we get a summary of Seungmin's findings about the break-in and Felix comes possibly with more clues?</p><p>(Note: in Seungmin's notes I used abbreviations for names, so:<br/>HJ = Hyunjin<br/>MH = Minho<br/>JI = Jeongin)</p><p>Enjoyyyy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Seungmin was lying down on his bed with his eyes closed, his arms crossed over his eyes as he tried not to think too much about Hyunjin. He had tried to gather his thoughts about the case, using the notes he had made during the day, but he couldn’t focus. His head hurt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wanted Hyunjin to come back. He needed to find him first, for that to happen, but his emotions got in the way of a clear head. He stopped forcing himself to think when he had felt his cheeks getting wet again and he went to lie down instead, waiting for Minho and/or Felix to message him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was done crying now, and even though his head hurt, he couldn’t stop thinking about the break-in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed. This wasn’t working. Seungmin sat up and reached over to his desk to grab his notebook and looked at his provisional summary.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘</span>
  </em>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Was Minho and Hyunjin’s apartment the only one trashed?</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>300 was the only one trashed, but not the only one open. 301 was kept open very slightly with a doorstop (accidental?), but nothing was trashed. The window lock was broken, but the lock on the front door was intact. 300 was the other way around.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>How did they get in?</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Evidence (broken door lock &amp; intact windows 300; intact door lock, doorstop &amp; broken window lock 301) points to that the point of entrance was 301 via the window and they prepared 301 to be the point of escape too with the doorstop. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They got into 300 by breaking the old lock on the front door, around 13.00, maybe a little before (Momo’s statement). Felix and I arrived around 14.00.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>What were they looking for?</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>300 is the only apartment with a broken lock, so most likely the target of the break-in (connection w HJ?). Everything was trashed, so they were looking for something either well hidden or not in 300 at all. Laptops not taken. Earrings were taken, but not the target, does not explain the exaggerated mess. My love letter is not in the apartment. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Did they find it?</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Unknown. Laptops not taken points to yes, but too little information about hacker-proficiency of the culprits is known. State of 300 points to no.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Where is Hyunjin?</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>HJ was last seen about to go on a walk (MH testimony) out of town in the morning at max 8 in the morning (townspeople testimony). His phone is either dead or off. He didn’t take anything other than his phone, his keys and the love letter (Not confirmed, but these are missing from 300). </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>JI had not seen him at around 14.45, so not with him. (What about his and JI’s family?)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>HJ had no obvious reason to leave on his own on purpose without saying goodbye (HJ testimony the day before disappearance). On the day before, HJ was planning on being home in the afternoon (MH testimony : HJ said on the day before his disappearance that he was looking forward to seeing me in the afternoon).</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Who is behind this?</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Unknown for both HJs disappearance and the break-in. People disguised as plumbers spotted on the day of the break-in. Girl named Yeji spotted eating tuna pizza a few days before, and was not seen after. (Townspeople testimony) </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Are the two cases connected?</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No: almost 5 hour difference between HJ last seen and break-in. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yes: HJ has something to do with what the culprits were/are looking for (?)’</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Seungmin sighed. This really wasn’t enough to pull out any new clues. He didn’t know where to begin looking for Hyunjin. He didn't know anyone who Hyunjin knew outside of the town except for Jeongin, but he didn't even know exactly where Jeongin lived. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He also knew almost nothing about the specifics of Hyunjin's life from before he moved here. Hyunjin had told them stories about his life, but he had never revealed any details about </span>
  <em>
    <span>where </span>
  </em>
  <span>they had taken place, nor did he mention full names of people, sometimes he didn't even mention any names at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin couldn't remember anything that could help him right now. He should really wait for Felix to come with a new clue. After a couple of minutes, Seungmin was freed from his torturous waiting and got a call from Minho.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello?” He answered the phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey. I couldn’t find anything else missing from the apartment, apart from the jewelry and the love letter.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho told him immediately. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t know if something from Hyunjin is missing, but if it is, it isn’t something that I know he owns.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. That’s… good? I guess.” Seungmin nodded, this didn’t really help him getting a new lead, but maybe Minho was at Felix’s already and he could update him on that situation. “What about Felix? Did he find anything?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s still working on it, because apparently Hyunjin has the function ‘automatically delete history’ enabled on his browsers, so Felix has to do a little more digging.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho said and Seungmin could hear that Minho had his phone on speaker, because he heard Felix’s rapid typing and clicking in the background.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You might want to come over, too, because Felix has just found Hyunjin’s provider, so he can track the last place his phone was when it was on or something.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh?</span>
  </em>
  <span> That was a hell of a lead right there. Seungmin definitely was going to come over now. He quickly grabbed his coat, notebook and gloves and sped out of the door. “I’m on my way.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When Seungmin arrived at Felix’s almost immediately after he had hung up, he saw that Felix was still eagerly typing and Minho immediately ran back to check what Felix was doing. Seungmin curiously joined the two, and he saw things he definitely couldn’t understand on one monitor, but another monitor showed a satellite view of a place Seungmin didn’t recognize, with a location marked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my gosh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is this the place where his phone was last turned on?” Seungmin asked and Felix held up a hand, signalling him to wait for something. He looked at Minho for an explanation but Minho just shrugged, he probably also had no idea what Felix was doing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck yes!” Felix exclaimed suddenly, silently cheering to himself for a moment before turning to the others who were regarding him with questioning gazes. Felix chuckled a little and scratched his neck awkwardly. “Sorry, uhh, things </span>
  <em>
    <span>worked</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so I was happy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you find?” Minho asked, eyes flicking across the monitors and back to Felix. Seungmin got his notebook and pen ready to write.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so I’ll try to not bother you with any details and mistakes I made, but I was able to eventually find Hyunjin’s telephone provider by retrieving his deleted search history. So remember guys, even if you delete your history, there’s still a way to find out what you’re doin—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, we get it. Be careful on the internet. What else?” Minho hurried the younger along. Felix apologized and went on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so the last place where his phone was turned on was near this place.” Felix pointed at the satellite image on the right monitor. “I couldn’t get a specific location by locating it via the provider, but luckily Hyunjin looked the place up before he went there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He looked it up? When? Why? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix retrieved Hyunjin’s search for a name of something that looked like a nightclub.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, he looked the place up? On his laptop? When?” Why would he look up a nightclub and go there in the morning? Did someone tell him to go there? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, let me see… It was one of his last searches yesterday.” Felix clicked a couple of times to get Hyunjin’s search history on the screen. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay so he probably had planned going there on his walk this morning, but why?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He scanned Hyunjin’s search history, but nothing was suspicious other than the nightclub, the place didn’t even open until eight in the evening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay… Nothing else looks particularly suspicious there. Anything else?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, actually there is. I was hacking into Hyunjin’s provider anyway, so...” Felix clicked another couple of times, typed something and made another screen appear. “I checked his phone records and I found something weird. Actually, I found </span>
  <em>
    <span>multiple</span>
  </em>
  <span> weird things. Take a look at this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The freckled computer wizard scrolled through Hyunjin’s phone records and Seungmin felt a little bad about reading his texts and seeing his phone calls. Felix pointed at one particular line in the file or whatever it was. Seungmin didn’t get what it meant, though. “See this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See what? I don’t see anything.” Minho squinted at the screen at the line where Felix pointed. “That’s just gibberish.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well— not exactly.” Felix wiggled his hands to convey Minho was almost correct. “It’s a text sent from a hidden number, but the text they sent is just an image. And I can’t open it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit. What does that mean? Did that image tell him to go to the bar?” Seungmin wondered out loud. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A hidden number? Why didn’t Hyunjin say anything about that…? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea. It could also be a mistake… Like that the text was meant for someone else and that’s why Hyunjin deleted the image?” Felix proposed. That could be true, but they had no way of knowing. It was peculiar that the text was sent to him yesterday, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s keep it in mind, we have to at least treat everything Hyunjin did yesterday as suspicious.” Seungmin said. Anything to find a lead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t you meet Hyunjin yesterday during his lunch break?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, that’s right…</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho had a point there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I did. I returned the letter to him yesterday.” Seungmin nodded slowly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hyunjin’s disappearance doesn’t have anything to do with my letter, though. Right? Why would it. I can’t imagine why.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Again the love letter.” Minho pointed out, a little redundantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think my letter has anything to do with this.” Seungmin countered, standing upright to properly face Minho, who was still leaning on Felix’s desk, but he was looking at Seungmin. “I don’t see the connection between my letter and this club or the break-in or the hidden text—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait a second</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Felix interrupted them, blindly grabbing at Seungmin’s shirt to pull him back to his desk. He pointed at the screen again. “Look at </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin squinted at the line where Felix pointed, it was a phone number and a text sent from Hyunjin to that number. The text said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘OK?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was the last text he sent and received before his phone was shut off somewhere in the morning. He had sent it yesterday evening, around dinner time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jeongin’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>number.” Felix pointed out and he grabbed his own phone, looking up Jeongin’s contact and showing it to them. “I knew the number looked familiar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His last text was to Jeongin…?” Seungmin frowned. Did Jeongin have to do anything with this situation? “And he sent </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘OK?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>... But Jeongin said he didn’t know where Hyunjin was. But he also didn’t answer Hyunjin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes and </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> leads me to the other weird thing I noticed. Jeongin has blocked Hyunjin’s number.” Felix clicked a couple more times to show them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He has </span>
  </em>
  <span>blocked</span>
  <em>
    <span> Hyunjin? Why would he do that? I thought they were close friends. Heck, they’re almost family!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck.” Minho stated. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Exactly. What the frick. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I agree— Lix. Can you show us Hyunjin's calls and texts just with Jeongin from the past few days?” Seungmin put a hand on his friend’s shoulder to get his attention. He hadn’t expected Felix to find so much— He didn’t even dream of his friend being able to figure out Hyunjin’s phone’s last location, let alone retrieve his phone records from the past few days. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, two seconds.” Felix nodded, clicking across the screen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re the best, Lixie. Thank you, really.” Seungmin rubbed his friend’s shoulders a little and Felix smiled. Minho ruffled the freckled boy’s hair fondly to convey his thanks too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I’m here for.” He patted Seungmin’s hand happily. “Here it is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin leaned closer to the screen to inspect their text exchange. There weren’t a lot of texts between them, and he saw that Hyunjin had tried to call Jeongin before texting him that last text. Something else caught his eye, a text exchange from a few days ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, look at this.” Seungmin pointed to one of the texts from Hyunjin to Jeongin. “It says: </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Why is Yeji here?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That’s the girl I saw eating tuna pizza when I was looking for Dori!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? He knows her?” Minho asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me read. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Why is Yeji here?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and then Jeongin replies </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Huh? I don’t know. Did you talk to her?’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Hyunjin replies with </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘No, I just saw her eating pizza. Don’t know if she saw me’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jeongin says </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘That’s weird, I’ll ask her’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and the conversation ends there.” Seungmin read aloud. So both Jeongin and Hyunjin knew Yeji? He didn’t say anything about it, but then again, Seungmin hadn’t asked him about her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did Yeji have anything to do with this? Was she looking for Hyunjin? Why didn’t she speak to Hyunjin, then? Was she really just there for the pizza? Weird.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was even weirder that Jeongin hadn’t texted him back about it. In fact, Jeongin had </span>
  <em>
    <span>blocked </span>
  </em>
  <span>him after that. That was suspicious as heck. “Jeongin never replied after, he even blocked Hyunjin. I’m sorry guys, but that’s pretty suspicious.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin wrote everything down in his notebook. He didn’t want to suspect Jeongin, Jeongin seemed so innocent and nice, but it wasn’t looking good for him so far. Felix and Minho seemed to reluctantly agree with him. Minho sighed and plopped down on Felix’s bed behind his desk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...So, what do we do now? Are you going to the club before it opens?” Felix proposed, turning around in his chair to face the other two. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think that’ll be good. Maybe you can check if you find something else in the meantime?” Seungmin thought that calling Jeongin again was maybe also a good idea, to confront him about the texts with Hyunjin and that he blocked him, maybe Jeongin would tell them something else then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He asked Felix if he wanted to do that and asked Minho if he wanted to come with him to the club or not. They decided for Felix to stay here and do more phone-related investigating while Minho and Seungmin would go where Hyunjin’s phone was last located. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, let’s go.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, do you think… Do you think Jeongin actually has something to do with Hyunjin’s disappearance?” Minho and Seungmin were walking down the street, toward the nightclub that Hyunjin had looked up yesterday. Seungmin was glad that Minho had agreed to come with him, it helped him stay focused to have someone with him to ask him questions and to think out loud with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The club was quite a long walk from the town, so it could partially explain the five hour difference between Hyunjin’s disappearance and the break-in, but the townspeople had said that they saw some unknown plumbers, and they would have mentioned them arriving on foot, because that would be weird. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, we don’t have any direct evidence, but the only evidence that we have points to him. I really don’t like accusing friends, but… we have to look into him.” It made his stomach churn, thinking about Jeongin somehow being involved and lying. Hyunjin trusted him and cared about him, it would be awful if he got hurt by someone close to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right. I— Oh, we’re here.” Minho pointed at the building they saw in the search. It was still closed, it was only around six in the afternoon, so they just examined the area around the building and looked into it from the outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There weren’t any signs of forced entry to the club, not on the front door nor on the back door or around any of the windows. The streets around the club were pretty empty, almost no cars were parked anywhere and Minho and Seungmin had barely encountered anyone on their way here. It had probably been the same this morning, the only thing around here that could attract people was the club. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A perfect place for an abduction… Fuck. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This place gives me the heebie jeebies.” Minho shivered as they looked around the back of the club. “And I don't mean that in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>dance </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Seungmin blinked at the older a few times, it was a slightly strange way to describe the feeling of the place, but Seungmin couldn't say that he disagreed. It was silent and empty. There wasn't really anything to see— </span><em><span>except there is.</span></em> <em><span>Would you look at that! </span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin motioned Minho to come join him in looking at the ground. The ground was quite dirty and a little sandy and Seungmin noticed drag marks leading from the side of the building to somewhere behind the back of the club. He pointed them out to Minho, who raised an eyebrow at the sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit. This looks like bad news.” Minho commented as they followed the drag marks to where they stopped a couple of meters behind the nightclub. The marks stopped and formed a small pit in the ground, it looked like someone had firmly kicked the ground here. Seungmin didn’t want to think about this as a sign of struggle, but that was what it was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He imagined that Hyunjin was at the side of the building, just minding his own business or whatever he was planning to do here, until whoever took him grabbed him and dragged him here, only for them to stop here. But why? Were they robbing him? But why here?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Think out loud a little more, detective Kim.” Minho told him, gesturing at himself. Seungmin rolled his eyes at the ‘nickname’, but he didn’t correct the older boy. “I’m here too, but I’m not a detective. I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> to help you out, but I don’t know if that’ll help. I do know that thinking out loud usually helps.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin snickered at the thought. “Oh, I’d like to see you try, though. Deduction, I mean.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho sighed and rolled his eyes as well. But he composed himself, cracked his knuckles and neck before pretending to hold a notebook and pen in hand and pulling a face that was obviously supposed to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Seungmin</span>
  </em>
  <span> face. “Okay, let me see…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The marks on the ground lead from the side of the building to here, where they stop. Someone tried to take Hyunjin, who was chilling at the side of the nightclub for some reason, maybe he was spying on some people or some shit, but they spotted him, so they ambushed him and took him here.” Minho gestured and imitated what he was saying, recreating the scene. He almost stepped into the small pit and Seungmin quickly grabbed his arm to stop him, there could be evidence there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoops— Sorry.” Minho stumbled backwards a bit. “Uhh, I have no idea why they stopped here and didn’t take him, though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded, that was pretty close to what he was thinking, but he hadn’t considered the possibility that Hyunjin was spying on someone. Maybe he was, but again, there was no way of knowing. Seungmin still thought that the text Hyunjin had gotten from the hidden number had something to do with this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or was it Jeongin? Did Jeongin send him the hidden text?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They could’ve stopped him because they needed something from him first.” Seungmin reasoned. He crouched to examine the pit more closely. “And they needed it fast? Maybe they wanted to know where he lived?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It could be that, or…” Seungmin continued, but he trailed off, spotting a hair in the pit. He picked it up and examined it, the hair was longer than Seungmin and Minho’s hair and it was black, matching Hyunjin’s hair. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A hair?” Minho squinted at it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ll take it with me so I can compare it with a hair from Hyunjin’s brush.” Seungmin told the older. His forensic science major was finally coming in real handy now. He searched the pit a little more for any other clues, writing everything down in his notebook in the meantime. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he couldn’t find anything, he told Minho to look around the area for any other clues. The drag marks didn’t continue after the pit, so either Hyunjin willingly came with them or was left alone, or he was… knocked out. A shiver ran through Seungmin’s spine thinking about that. At least there wasn’t any blood on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, let’s stop thinking about worst case scenarios if there isn’t any evidence for that. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin looked around, but there really was nothing to see around here. There was only a road and this night club. He contemplated going inside the club just in case, but the drag marks alluded to that they hadn’t gone inside at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin sighed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I didn’t expect everything to fall in its place immediately, but I didn’t expect my first real case to be this… complicated and vague. Am I just doing a bad job...? Felix is doing the real work here, I feel like I haven’t found anything useful yet.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. No time for dwelling in insecurities. He looked around for Minho and he saw that he took looking </span>
  <em>
    <span>around</span>
  </em>
  <span> the place pretty seriously, wandering pretty far off around the building. Maybe that was a good idea, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit! Seungmin, come here!” Minho exclaimed all of a sudden from near a bush. He crouched and almost disappeared behind it… </span>
  <em>
    <span>inside</span>
  </em>
  <span> it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? What did you find?” Seungmin jogged up to the bush to join his friend. He looked over Minho’s bent body, trying to see what he found. Minho straightened, almost knocking Seungmin out with his head. He held up a set of keys. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is that…?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These are </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hyunjin’s</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Minho wiggled the set, the keys jangling against each other. He threw his keys into a bush? Seungmin looked back to the place where the pit was… Hyunjin could make that throw, Seungmin guessed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin.” Minho pulled on Seungmin’s sleeve to get his attention back and showed him the key set again. “The keys to our apartment have been bent.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin frowned and took the set of keys in his hands, examining the bent keys. He should’ve brought a magnifying glass, but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> bring his camera, so he could use the zooming function of that. He should remember to also take pictures of the drag marks as evidence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold the keys for a sec.” Seungmin handed the set back to Minho and grabbed his camera, taking a couple of pics of the bent keys and also running back quickly to take some pictures of the ground and the surroundings, just in case. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He and Minho looked at the bent keys in more detail to figure out why they were bent. Did Hyunjin bend them on purpose and throw them away so that the culprits couldn’t use his keys to get into the apartment or did the culprits bend them so that Hyunjin wouldn’t be able to go back anymore? The first option would connect the break-in with Hyunjin’s disappearance and would explain the long timespan between the two events.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If the culprits were planning on luring Hyunjin here and stealing his keys to break into the apartment, but Hyunjin bent the keys and threw them away, they could’ve been delayed in their planning. That kind of scenario made sense, but they didn’t have any direct evidence—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhm. Are those </span>
  <em>
    <span>teeth marks</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Seungmin zoomed a little more in on the picture of one of the keys and squinted. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the heck?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, could be. It’s pretty hard to bend a key with your bare hands.” Minho pointed out. Seungmin guessed that he had a point there. Maybe this pointed to Hyunjin being the one who bent them, because, yeah, the culprit could also have bent them with their teeth, but if they already had Hyunjin ‘ready to take with them’, then why bother bending the keys before throwing them away. They could’ve just prevented Hyunjin from getting them, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so far I think the most probable thing that happened is that Hyunjin was lured here by the people who also broke into your apartment.” Seungmin scribbled some last notes into his book while he told Minho what his thoughts were so far. “Maybe it was via the text from the hidden number, but maybe otherwise. He came here to meet them, but it somehow escalated to something, making the culprit drag Hyunjin, against his will, from…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin pointed to the side of the nightclub, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>...there</span>
  </em>
  <span> to...” He then walked over to the pit and gestured at it as Minho walked over to him, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin then went to stand where the culprit had stood while holding onto Hyunjin. “They asked Hyunjin where the thing is they’re looking for—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They were like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ya, punk! Tell us where the goods are!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Minho did a low voice to impersonate a bad guy. Seungmin didn't want to laugh, but he couldn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop! I'm trying to retell the events of a crime!” Seungmin pushed the older softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm helping.” Minho deadpanned. Seungmin raised his eyebrows at him and Minho mirrored the action. “Go on then!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, fine. Where was I?” Seungmin calmed himself and gathered his thoughts again. Minho imitated a bad guy, just like he had done earlier. “Right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>'Tell us where the goods are!'</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they said. Hyunjin may or may not have told them anything, but they were in a hurry, so at one point they demanded his keys. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Give us your house keys!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho snorted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... Anyway, Hyunjin didn't want to make things easy, so he managed to bend his keys and throw them away.” Seungmin told him and they both imitated Hyunjin throwing the key set away. They squinted at each other and at the confrontation that they were more similar than they'd like to admit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And somehow they managed to drag him away from here without any struggle, </span>
  <em>
    <span>or</span>
  </em>
  <span> they let him go, but that seems unlikely if they weren't sure that they'd find what they were looking for in his apartment.” Seungmin finished the summary. There was still a lot missing, but they had managed to figure out that there was a high chance that Hyunjin’s disappearance was connected to the break-in. They were already a lot further along in the investigation than after they had just searched the apartment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, there's something weird about what you said.” Minho pointed out. “If Hyunjin came here to meet those guys, why are there signs of a struggle? Why did they drag him from there to here?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was a good question. Seungmin thought for a moment. “Maybe he found out what their intentions were and he tried to escape?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but why did he take your love letter with him?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gosh, again with the love letter. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don't know, Minho, maybe he just still had it with him.” Seungmin sighed. He appreciated Minho asking questions, but they had more important things to focus on than the letter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if Hyunjin knew that he was getting into something dangerous, so he took the letter with him for mental support?” His friend proposed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why wouldn't he bring any backup with him? Tell anyone he was going here in case anything went wrong?” A bad feeling began to settle in Seungmin's stomach again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because people would ask questions?” Minho looked at him as if that was trivial. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, because we want to help him. Protect him.” Seungmin said simply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But what if he doesn't want us to ask questions?” Minho countered, crossing his arms, as if he was some kind of disobedient child, trying to prove his parents wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh—What?” Seungmin didn't know what to say. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He doesn't want us to help him? But Hyunjin and I always talk about our problems with each other. Hyunjin isn't one to shy away from asking for help. He even asked me to help him figure out who wrote him a love letter. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't give me that look. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that Hyunjin is hiding something.” Minho gave him an incredulous look. Seungmin just pressed his lips together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ya! Detective Kim! Don't let your thoughts get clouded by feelings!” Minho pushed him and Seungmin pushed him back with a frown. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What is he going on about? He's so annoying. I'm not doing that. I just can't imagine that Hyunjin would deliberately be keeping secrets from us. We are important to him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm not. I just— Okay, maybe a little, because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>notice that Hyunjin has kept some information from us, but I didn't want to think it was on purpose.” He explained, feeling a blush creep up his neck in embarrassment. He was supposed to be a professional, but he still needed a second opinion apparently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get it. Hyunjin seems soft and innocent and oblivious and naive, but maybe there's more to him than he lets us see. Just like with Jeongin.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit. Minho is right. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That didn't mean it didn't hurt to think about. He prayed that it wasn't true, but he couldn't just ignore the possibility that Hyunjin was hiding things on purpose. And Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They wrapped it up at the nightclub and went back home, deciding to leave things be for now, Seungmin letting everything sink in. They had made quite some progress today, but not as much as Seungmin would've liked. They still had no idea who was behind this, only indirect evidence pointing to Jeongin, but they didn't have any motive for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They also didn't know where Hyunjin was. The nightclub didn't give them any leads regarding that, although maybe the hair or the keys would help them. For now, Seungmin just hoped that Hyunjin would be safe until they found him. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 3</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Felix the freckled computer wizard has come with important clues~ Jeongin sus...? Yeji sus...? /Hyunjin/ sus...?! Hmmm... Minho and Seungmin are also forming a pretty good team so far, what do you think?</p><p>Anyway next chapter the day after tomorrow as always (this time from Minho's POV!) :))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Oh my god. Who still owns a paper knife in this day and age!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He wondered if Seungmin or Felix could sleep. Knowing Seungmin, he had probably stayed up all night trying to materialize clues out of thin air by thinking really hard or something. He hoped Seungmin was okay, though. The boy probably felt like it was his responsibility to find Hyunjin before anything happened to him. Minho hoped he and Felix could ease the burden for him a bit.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A chapter from Minho's perspective! He's kind of going through it mentally, but he has his friends to cheer him up. And he finds more clues perhaps?</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Minho woke up with a start. Apparently he had fallen asleep eventually. His body felt just as heavy as it had when he was tossing and turning all night, but he eventually managed to roll over and grab his phone from his night stand to check the time. </span>
  <em>
    <span>7.03</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Blegh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t slept as long as he’d like, he had probably fallen asleep only an hour ago, two if he was lucky. He just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened yesterday, going over the clues and events about a thousand times until he couldn’t remember what had happened when. Then he tried not to think about being all alone in his apartment again— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Let’s still not think about that.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix had offered Minho to stay with him last night, after they had reconvened to update each other on their progress, but Minho had declined. The lock was fixed already, so it was fine. What wasn’t fine, was the fact that when Felix had called Jeongin, the boy hadn’t picked up, not a single time. That made Jeongin more suspicious (and it made Seungmin more cranky). Felix had also told them that he hadn’t found anything suspicious on Hyunjin’s laptop after searching it thoroughly another time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin and Minho had told Felix what they found and after that they just sat there, not really knowing what to do next. They got a call from some people working for the newspaper, asking for confirmation that Hyunjin was missing. Seungmin told them that they were still investigating things, but that there had been a break-in in apartment 300. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were more questions, but Seungmin didn't tell them anything he wasn't sure of, eventually hanging up, frustrated with the nosiness of the people in this town. The detective didn't want to report Hyunjin to be officially missing to the police, though, quite sure about the fact that the three of them would do a much better job than the incompetent police of this shitty town. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho wholeheartedly agreed with that, even though Felix and he weren't technically professionals. Especially Minho wasn't, he was just a florist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin eventually said that he should go home and compare the hair they found with one from Hyunjin’s brush and check the photos he made again. He said that he’d update them if he found something and that didn’t particularly help Minho sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only thing that Seungmin had sent them was the confirmation that the hair that they had found was from Hyunjin. That sucked, but it was also a clue. He had sent that at a reasonable time, so technically Minho could have just gone to sleep after that, and he had tried, but the universe wasn’t in his favor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he should have accepted Felix’s offer after all. Whatever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wondered if Seungmin or Felix could sleep. Knowing Seungmin, he had probably stayed up all night trying to materialize clues out of thin air by thinking really hard or something. He hoped Seungmin was okay, though. The boy probably felt like it was his responsibility to find Hyunjin before anything happened to him. Minho hoped he and Felix could ease the burden for him a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thinking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking</span>
  </em>
  <span> was bothersome right now. Just like moving. He felt exhausted from everything that happened yesterday, but he knew that he wasn’t going to fall asleep anymore, so he could as well just get up, take a shower and hope he would feel better afterwards. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He delayed taking a shower for a good half an hour, even though his head was screaming at him for him to do something productive. Eventually he groaned and managed to force himself to be unproductive in the shower. At least the hot water was kind of relaxing. He felt a bit better after drenching himself in hot water for another good half hour, but he felt only slightly better. Maybe food would make him feel better. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If you’re feeling bad, first ask yourself, are my basic needs taken care of? Have I slept enough, eaten enough, drank enough? Did I take a shower recently and have I gotten some kind of exercise lately? If those aren’t taken care of I’ll probably feel tired,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho thought to himself, recalling his own theory on why a person can feel tired. He already missed out on sleep, but any of the others he could still do to make himself feel a little more energized, so he made himself some breakfast while trying not to think about another thing he might be missing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>My friends. And my cats.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He quickly tried to shake the thoughts away, but a bad feeling settled in his stomach anyway. He always tried to keep a cool front and pretend that he didn’t care </span>
  <em>
    <span>that much</span>
  </em>
  <span> about his friends, but he couldn’t help but feel terrible when thinking about the fact that Hyunjin was missing and he hadn’t seen Chan, Changbin and Jisung in </span>
  <em>
    <span>months</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Great, now his appetite was gone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho sighed and put his breakfast in the fridge for now. Maybe going on a run would help him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or doing a dance routine…?</span>
  </em>
  <span> No, his neighbours below would complain, it was still pretty early. And it would be a pain to move all of his furniture in the mess that his apartment was right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A run it is.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When Minho returned from his run he felt sweaty and tired, but it was a better tired than before. He was also hungry as heck, he had gone on a pretty long run after all. It had been kinda nice getting his mind off of things, although it had been hard. He was both glad to see that it was already after noon, but he also felt like he had wasted his time a bit by not actively trying to help find Hyunjin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, I can't think if I'm feeling awful, it's okay. I'll only be a dead weight if I try to help when I'm like this. And I’m just a florist. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first thing that he did now that he had returned, even before stepping foot inside his building, was check his phone. He saw that Felix had sent him a picture of a sleeping Seungmin, face down on his desk, with the caption </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Our Trooper had a long night I see’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho snickered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>as expected</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Felix had sent him some updates after, apparently there had been a post on the local news website of their town yesterday evening about the break-in and Hyunjin’s disappearance and it was even in this morning's newspaper already. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh gosh, Seungmin is </span>
  </em>
  <span>not </span>
  <em>
    <span>going to like this. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho was glad that Felix was there with him when he would see it, though.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin had woken up a little after Felix had sent the picture and had apparently already seen the news, according to the new texts that Minho was receiving. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, of course. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix also asked him if he had slept well and was doing alright, so Minho typed out a quick and vague reply, Felix would probably understand, before he asked him if he was doing okay. Felix replied within a couple of seconds assuring the older he was doing fine and that he had slept better than he had thought, exhaustion eventually knocking him out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, thank god.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix typed out another message to tell him he could come over any time and that he was now at Seungmin’s because he was bringing him lunch. Minho typed out a thank you, but before he would take the younger up on that offer he would take another shower and eat something himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once back in his apartment he felt a little better. Seeing the mess still stung, but it was slightly more bearable. He took his time showering again, but he kept his phone in the room just in case he was needed. He also had an extensive meal, since he skipped breakfast and it was already well into the afternoon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yesterday around this time I was investigating my trashed apartment. Jeez, that already feels so long ago. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho sighed, maybe he should go visit Seungmin and Felix right now, but his legs were tired from running for so long. He also didn't know if they'd be at Seungmin’s place or Felix's. Not that the two didn't basically live next door to each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He rubbed a hand along his face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why is everything so tiring today? Maybe because I'm thinking so much. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He didn't want to do anything but he had to do something, so he decided to go over to Seungmin and Felix and do— </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes, you guessed it</span>
  </em>
  <span>— more thinking, probably. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He put on his shoes and a jacket and went downstairs again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anything better than staying in my stupid and messy apartment. </span>
  </em>
  <span>When he was about to go outside of the building, he spotted the mailboxes of the apartments and he remembered that he hadn't checked the mail today. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This can always cheer me up— </span>
  </em>
  <span>If</span>
  <em>
    <span> there is anything. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He searched for his mailbox key while walking over to them. His heart jumped when he opened the box and he saw an envelope in it, it always made him nervously excited to see a letter from Jisung. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes! Thank you Jisung, I needed this. Felix and Seungmin will be pleased as well. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He quickly snatched it and looked at the familiar writing on the front of the envelope, saying </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘From the musical trio; To our dearest friends’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Minho couldn’t help but smile a little now, he was looking forward to seeing what his three friends had been up to this week. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he was about to close the mailbox, he spotted </span>
  <em>
    <span>another</span>
  </em>
  <span> envelope. It was a different kind of envelope than the basic white one, more </span>
  <em>
    <span>sleek</span>
  </em>
  <span>, somehow. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho knitted his eyebrows at the sight, he usually didn’t get much mail and this didn’t look like it was something coming from the government, so he was curious about what it could be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He picked it up and examined it, but there was nothing written on the front or the back of the envelope. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Uhm… Maybe I should call Felix and Seungmin about this.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho got nervous all over again, debating whether to call Felix or Seungmin or just go over there. He couldn't decide, so he stayed put and dialed Felix's number. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hello, Minho! What's up?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix greeted him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I— Uhm.” He cleared his throat. “Are you still with Seungmin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes. Why?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got a letter from Jisung again…!” Minho tried to sound happy and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he really was happy about that, but the other envelope was throwing him off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Really?! Yay!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix exclaimed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“But… You sound a little… off? What else?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got an unsigned envelope as well.” He said and Felix was suddenly silent. After a moment he heard Felix put him speaker and tell Seungmin about the contents of Minho’s mail. He immediately asked if Minho was already coming over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well what’s he doing then! Minho, come over!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin exclaimed through the phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, I was already planning on coming over, be patient.” Minho rolled his eyes again, knowing Seungmin was doing the same even though they couldn’t see each other. “At which house are you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mine.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, see you soon.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When Minho arrived, the three of them immediately gathered around at Seungmin’s desk and Minho laid down the two envelopes. They shared a look with each other, all silently agreeing to first open the mysterious envelope, in case it could be urgent or something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho grabbed it and wanted to just rip it open, but Seungmin quickly snatched it out of his hands before he opened one of the drawers in his desk and grabbed a paper knife to open the envelope carefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god. Who still owns a </span>
  <em>
    <span>paper knife</span>
  </em>
  <span> in this day and age!” Felix commented and Minho thought it was very fitting for Seungmin to own one. Minho may have one at home with his parents, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do. Because it's handy— </span>
  <em>
    <span>necessary</span>
  </em>
  <span> even, in cases like this.” Seungmin slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of black paper that was embellished with gold writing front and back. The boy opened the piece of paper and laid it flat on the desk to show all three of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘INVITATION TO THE HWANG RESIDENCE’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it said in fancy curly golden letters on the top of the paper. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hwang? As in Hwang Hyunjin?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘It has been made known to us that our dear son has gone missing’—</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait a second. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They know he’s missing already?!” Minho hissed and saw that Felix and Seungmin were just as confused, but they kept reading, so Minho continued as well. It was an invitation to a get-together at Hyunjin’s parents’ residence in two days, in support for their son’s disappearance. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, uhm, that’s weirdly fast. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The invitation needed to be shown upon entrance and it was valid for the receivant and a plus one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay…” Felix nodded a little to himself and then he looked at Seungmin. “What the heck is this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin shrugged, shaking his head. “I have no idea. Who sent this to us? How did they find out about Hyunjin missing so soon? Whose parents keep track of the news of the place where their son lives? Nothing ever happens here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But… You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to go, right?” Felix asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>I am.” Seungmin immediately replied. “This is the lead we need to make progress. This is a chance to find out who Hyunjin’s family is and… and what Hyunjin may be hiding.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Minho nodded. “I’m coming with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin looked at him with a hesitant expression. “Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Minho wasn’t going to let Seungmin go alone. And anything was better than staying here right now. Anything better than staying in his messy apartment. “I already got some time off work because of the break-in, so it’s fine. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span>—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho snatched the envelope off of the desk. “—This invitation was sent to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He pointed out with a smirk before pointing a finger at Seungmin. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> can be my plus one, Minnie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you being like this, Minho?” The younger breathed, giving Minho a tired look. “I’m just looking out for you. You’re just a florist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ouch.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what?” Minho gritted his teeth. “It’s not like </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> are a trained detective or private investigator or something. You studied forensic </span>
  <em>
    <span>science</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not criminology or something. You’re a scientist—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I knew what I got into when I decided I wanted to be a private investigator instead of a scientist.” Seungmin barked back, eyes angry, but also tired. Felix’s eyes flicked nervously between Seungmin and Minho, unsure if he should interfere or not. Minho and Seungmin paid him no mind. “I also </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> my training wasn’t really conventional.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, good I gave you that first mission to warm up—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>shut up</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Minho—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Guys</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Felix yelled all of a sudden, slamming his hand on Seungmin’s desk and making Minho jump two meters into the air. He raised his eyebrows at the two, silently checking if they dared to say something else. Felix could be scary sometimes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are not going anywhere with this. You two are both tired, but let’s please remember we are all trying to help each other out here and find Hyunjin. We all want the same thing. Let’s try to listen to each other.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin rolled his eyes again, waving a hand at Minho dismissively. “Whatever. I’m done arguing. I’ll be your plus one, I guess.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho felt himself get </span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely</span>
  </em>
  <span> annoyed with the younger all of a sudden, not for a particular reason, though, it was probably just his fatigue. Felix was right. He was very very right and Minho shouldn’t let a tiring emotion like anger take over. He willed himself to calm down and not make a stupid comment that he would regret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He dropped the envelope again, almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>threw</span>
  </em>
  <span> it down, just to get the agitation out of his system, but when it hit the desk, it sounded like there was still something in it, and everyone heard it, distracting them from the tense atmosphere. Seungmin immediately looked inside it and he emptied the envelope on his desk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What fell out of the envelope was… </span>
  <em>
    <span>money?</span>
  </em>
  <span> And a small piece of paper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Here is some money for clothes and a ride. The dress code is black and formal. You can’t overdress. Good luck, Hyunjin needs you’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the note says.” Seungmin read aloud. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, there’s something on the back as well.” Felix noticed and he crouched a little to read it. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘PS: Sorry I didn’t answer your calls, I want to talk in person.’</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix straightened himself and they all looked at each other, understanding each other without a word. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin.” They said, simultaneously. So Jeongin had sent them money, an invitation and a note giving them instructions. Was he helping them, or was he tricking them? Or should they focus on the family? Did it have something to do with that the two families were close on the surface but were actually rivals?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you think, Seungmin?” Felix asked their friend before Minho could. Seungmin took a deep breath and rubbed his hand along his chin, brows slightly furrowed. He sat down in his chair and grabbed his notebook to scribble some more things down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you guys should still go. We have almost two days to prepare, and you guys can stay in contact with me the whole time in case something goes wrong. I’ll have your back.” Their freckled friend said. “I think Jeongin is trying to help us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to think that as well, but…” Seungmin sighed and slumped back in his chair. He rubbed a hand along his face and leaned forward to flip through his notes again. “...Jeongin is still suspicious. Just like Hyunjin’s parents. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> is suspicious right now, we can’t just assume the best that easily.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a kind of pessimistic view, but Minho guessed that was necessary for a detective. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That being said, this is our only lead right now, so I don’t think that we have much of a choice other than following Jeongin’s instructions and preparing as much as we can.” Seungmin continued, turning around in his chair to face his two friends. There was a new fierceness in his eyes now, which hadn’t been there a couple of minutes ago. Minho felt that fire start to burn inside himself as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As much as Jeongin is suspicious, he is right about one thing.” Seungmin stood up from his chair and Minho already knew what he was going to say. Felix smiled and Minho knew that Felix understood it as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hyunjin needs us.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>After they had examined the invitation in so much detail that Minho’s head began to spin seeing the fancy gold writing, Seungmin proposed to start investigating the residence and anything they could find on Hyunjin’s family. They already reasoned that the Hwangs were probably an upper class family, judging from the invitation, although they wouldn’t have guessed that from Hyunjin’s possessions and lifestyle. Apparently Jeongin’s family was also upper class and Jeongin’s family came up pretty often while searching for Hyunjin’s family.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin himself was roommates with Minho and their apartment wasn’t exactly what you’d call </span>
  <em>
    <span>upper class</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Florist and hairdresser weren’t the most lucrative of jobs after all, but learning that Hyunjin’s family actually had money made Minho wonder why he settled for less when he could have more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t ask Hyunjin right now why, obviously, but helping investigate had to wait as well right now, because Minho remembered that they still had another unopened letter to look at. He immediately shot up and grabbed the envelope from where it was discarded at the edge of the desk while they inspected the mysterious invitation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys.” Minho called. “We still have Jisung’s letter to look at.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Felix hurried over to Minho and looked over his shoulder, watching him open the envelope with the paper knife.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Read it out loud?” Seungmin asked, not bothering to look in their direction while he was searching up the address of the Hwang residence on his computer. Minho knew he was listening, though. Seungmin missed the musical trio just as much as Minho did. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, maybe not just as much, because, </span>
  </em>
  <span>holy cow</span>
  <em>
    <span>, I miss them, but he misses them a lot as well.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, here goes.” Minho cleared his throat and opened the letter, smiling when he saw the doodles at the top near their names. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Dear friends, we miss you guys so much. We hope you guys are still doing well. Is Seungmin’s career as a private investigator going well? Did he already get his first real case, or is he still in the ‘searching-for-lost-cats’ phase?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho barked out a loud laugh and Seungmin sighed real hard, shaking his head to himself with a little smile. “Gosh… How does he know that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix and Minho grinned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They’ve known us since forever, that’s why.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jisung is psychic, I think.” Minho shrugged before focusing on the letter again. “Anyway, let me continue. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Just kidding, we’re all proud of you guys. We have been working hard on songs as always, and we had actually hoped to visit you guys soon, but</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>’</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho swallowed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But…? </span>
  </em>
  <span>His heart dropped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What is it this time? Why can’t they visit </span>
  </em>
  <span>this time</span>
  <em>
    <span>?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>but something else came up and our schedules are filled with preparations for a private gig. I really hope we can free up something soon and see you guys. I also wish we could invite you guys over, but it’s hard. I’m sorry.’</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Minho stopped reading there, even though the letter wasn’t finished, but he felt incredibly frustrated. He just wanted to see his friends, but it seemed like they were making up excuses at this point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho understood it if they were busy and if they didn’t have time or money to make the trip over to here, but why didn’t they ever invite Minho, Felix and Seungmin over? Minho had no idea where they lived now, and he had told them in letters that it was no problem for them to come over, but Jisung had sent back that it would be inconvenient for them to come over to their house, because their landlord was icky about that kind of stuff.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt like excuses, because why couldn’t they just meet somewhere in public then? Minho didn’t want to believe that it were excuses, but it had been months and the letters were nice, but it just wasn’t the same as calling and texting or seeing each other’s face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho...?” Felix suddenly asked, giving him a concerned look. Minho blinked a couple of times. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right, I was reading the letter.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Are you okay? I mean, I’m bummed out that we can’t see them again, but… we are also kind of busy with the case, aren’t we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know that.” Minho did know that. That didn’t mean they couldn’t make time to see their friends, though, right? “I’m fine, I was a little distracted for a second, sorry. I’ll continue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cleared his throat again and continued. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Anyway! Back to more fun stuff. How are things going with you guys? Is Minho’s new roommate doing okay too? I know I've asked a lot about him already, but we can't help but be curious about the nameless mysterious outsider~ I can’t believe that he doesn’t even want to tell us his name before we meet him!! What kind of person! But I guess that someone who voluntarily comes to live in our little hometown must be unique, haha. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I have a lot more to write you guys about, but words just don't seem to flow well right now, I might need some chocolate to help get the juices flowing. Or I have written too many lyrics lately (even genius brains like mine need a break every once in a while ;)). I don't have a lot of time to write either right now, but I wanted to let you guys know that we are approaching a busy period. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We love you and miss you a lot and we're thinking of you guys, so we're looking forward to hearing from you back. XOXO Channie, Binnie and Sungie &lt;3.'</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho finished reading the letter and felt bittersweet. He was worried and… he missed his friends, but he was glad they at least sent them something before things got busy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At least Jisung is as sappy as ever.” Seungmin commented, eyes still on the computer screen. He clicked a couple of times and wrote some things down before turning to face Minho and Felix. “Are you guys going to write back about… Are you going to write back now?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix raised his eyebrows at Minho and Minho shrugged. “I don't know.” He was tired and he was feeling emotions he didn't know how to describe, which meant he wasn't in the right state of mind to write a letter. “Maybe we should focus on preparing for the fancy get-together or something first.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Seungmin nodded. “Let's do that then. I've found some things already.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 4</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. This isn’t a house, this is a mansion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“You guys look great. You’re going to be great.” Felix smiled at the two before putting on a serious face and turning to Seungmin. “You have everything?” </p><p>“Yes, my notebook just fits in my pocket without looking weird.” Seungmin nodded, patting the pocket of his slacks. “I’ve got my phone, with all of the programs you told me to install. I tested the fingerprint scanner and chemical analyzer programs.” </p><p>“I have the invitation.” Minho showed them the black paper to confirm.</p><p>“Good.” Felix gave them a thumbs up and a smile before reaching into his pocket and pulling out two small wireless earphones, about the colour of their skin. “I finally got these to work! Just in time.”</p><p>“How secret agent of you, Lixie.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First part of the happenings at the Hwang residence! </p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Seungmin took one last look in the mirror, inspecting his hair and outfit to see if there wasn’t anything missing and if he looked fancy enough. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Seems about right?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He guessed, he didn’t know what was appropriate for a… get-together to… mourn? remember? show support? for a missing son of a rich family.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was wearing a full black matte suit, a pair of shiny dark shoes and a pair of silky gloves, that he bought from Jeongin’s money, because these items were </span>
  <em>
    <span>expensive</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but that was necessary, Seungmin thought. Hyunjin’s family was rich and powerful, as they owned a big company selling </span>
  <em>
    <span>jewelry</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but there were a lot of branches that did different things as well. Seungmin couldn’t help but immediately think about the missing jewelry from Hyunjin and Minho’s apartment. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Just a coincidence, or a message? Am I overthinking this?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know right now, but he would keep it in mind. Minho had said Hyunjin’s jewelry didn’t look like the ones that his family’s company manufactured, it was not nearly as expensive and fancy. It made Seungmin wonder if Hyunjin had cut ties with his family or maybe the other way around? Why would they hold this get-together, then?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was Hyunjin’s family behind this and was this their way of covering things up? Or did Hyunjin cut ties with them and there was someone else behind it, and this was their way of showing their final regret about what happened? A quick search on Hyunjin’s family didn’t give him any more clues about what could have happened, and when Felix had searched, he had found some weird posts about the company, but the sources were questionable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin hoped that things would get clearer once they were at the Hwang residence. He hoped to at least speak to Jeongin there, he had some things to explain to them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A lot of things.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bell rang. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, it’s time to leave.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let Felix and Minho in and his friends immediately snickered at his outfit. Seungmin made a face at them and Felix hugged him in apology. “Sorry! It’s just… different to see you guys all dressed up like this! You guys look really handsome, though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho scoffed softly, muttering something like </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘of course I look handsome’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he technically wasn’t wrong, but Minho’s face was just generally handsome. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Just like Hyunjin’s…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin quickly pushed any thoughts about Hyunjin away and examined Minho’s outfit. He was wearing a similar black suit, but with a silky black blouse underneath and some dangly earrings. Seungmin wasn’t really a jewelry guy, so he had skipped that, hoping just a suit, fancy shoes and styled hair would be enough to fit in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho’s shoes had some more serious heels than Seungmin’s, making him about the same height as Seungmin, which was weird to see, and Seungmin thought it’d be uncomfortable to stand in those for too long, but he guessed Minho didn’t mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They approved of each other’s look and Felix brushed off some cat hair from Minho’s jacket. “You guys look great. You’re going to be great.” Felix smiled at the two before putting on a serious face and turning to Seungmin. “You have everything?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, my notebook just fits in my pocket without looking weird.” Seungmin nodded, patting the pocket of his slacks. “I’ve got my phone, with all of the programs you told me to install. I tested the fingerprint scanner and chemical analyzer programs.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have the invitation.” Minho showed them the black paper to confirm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Felix gave them a thumbs up and a smile before reaching into his pocket and pulling out two small wireless earphones, about the colour of their skin. “I finally got these to work! Just in time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How </span>
  <em>
    <span>secret agent</span>
  </em>
  <span> of you, Lixie.” Minho chuckled and reached out to grab one of the two earphones, but Felix swatted his hand away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait! I made them so they matched your specific skin tone.” Felix picked out one earphone and handed it over to Minho. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>This one</span>
  </em>
  <span> is for you and the other one is for Seungminnie.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin and Minho took the earphones and put them into their ear. Felix whispered something into his phone softly and Seungmin heard </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Hi, my name is Felix’</span>
  </em>
  <span> whispered into his ear, signalling everything worked. Felix raised his eyebrows at his friends and Minho pretended he didn’t hear things and Seungmin wanted to go along with it, but Felix’s pout made him too sad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just kidding, Lixie! My name is Seungmin!” Seungmin chuckled and Felix barked out a </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Ya!’</span>
  </em>
  <span> before slapping the two with no force at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was all worried it broke again!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.” He apologized. Felix shook his head in fake disapproval and then he took another small device out of his pocket and showed it to them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is so that I can hear you guys too.” He turned the small device around and showed them a button. “This button is to turn it off or on. If you guys want me to hear everything you can just leave it on.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The smaller boy helped hide the device somewhere in their collar so that he could hear them, but it was still hidden. After a couple test rounds and adjusting of the device, they were about ready to go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have to go now, the taxi should arrive soon.” Seungmin announced when he saw the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix nodded and gave them another hug before helping them straighten their jackets and wishing them good luck. “Let’s find Hyunjin.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s find Hyunjin.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The taxi drive there was silent and kind of tense, Seungmin was going over his notes again and Minho was just looking outside. He wondered what kind of people he should look out for, other than Jeongin, of course. He also prepared some questions to ask Hyunjin’s parents and Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After that, he closed his notebook and put it back in his pocket. He placed his hands on his lap, looking at Minho for a second. “You didn’t write a letter back yet, right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho turned to look at him, expression unreadable. “I didn’t.” He said, before turning back to look outside. “Didn’t know what to write yet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded, pressing his lips together. He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake by bringing that up, but he was curious, since they may be too busy to send something the next couple of days, but maybe they should just focus on the case.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The taxi arrived and Seungmin had to take a moment to take in the size of the Hwang residence. It had already looked pretty big on the pictures online, but seeing it in real life it looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>huge</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This wasn’t a house, this was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>mansion</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The evening light made the mix of traditional and victorian slash gothic architecture look eerie, and Seungmin guessed it fit the mood of tonight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here we go.” He heard Minho breathe out and they started walking toward the entrance. Minho linked their arms and Seungmin gave him a confused look. “What? You’re my plus one, I’m trying to make us look like it a little.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, of course. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin chuckled softly, but he suppressed it when they were close to the entrance. A tall gentleman in a suit stood there to greet them and ask for their invitation. Minho handed it over and they got inside without much trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another man took their coats and led them to what Seungmin guessed was the main hall of the mansion. It was kind of dark there as well, all guests dressed in fancy black clothes, soft classical music playing in the background. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jeongin really wasn’t exaggerating when he said ‘you can’t overdress’. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You guys are in?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suddenly sounded in their ears and Minho jumped, grabbing his chest in schock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus.” The older whispered, catching his breath after being startled like that. “I forgot Lix could talk to us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sorry guys.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix chuckled. Seungmin patted Minho’s back in support. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re in. Just looking around for now.” Seungmin told his friend at home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, good luck.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Should we split up and look around?” Minho proposed and Seungmin shook his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, let’s wait. Hyunjin’s parents are probably going to say something in a couple of minutes, and we have to find Jeongin first.” He explained, looking around to see if he could spot Jeongin somewhere. He hoped he could recognize Jeongin in a suit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While searching the crowd for Jeongin, a couple of people approached them for small talk, but luckily Minho was an expert in politely avoiding saying anything useful and avoiding conversation in general, so they could move on quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There he is.” Seungmin whispered, pulling on Minho’s arm to drag him with him. Jeongin noticed them about the same time. He smiled at them and approached them, meeting them halfway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin looked really different with a suit on, his hair swept out of his face. He was also wearing higher heels than Seungmin was, which made him taller than Seungmin and made him… look more important somehow. Seungmin hadn’t expected him to be able to emit such an aura.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His posture was straight and even his eyes looked drastically different when his smile faded into a serious expression. Seungmin didn’t know if he should be more suspicious about him or not, because maybe this was just how he was used to acting at formal events like these. He wondered if Hyunjin could look like this too, if he grew up learning how to stand like this and look… important.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho suddenly jabbed him in his side, making him let out a grunt. He whipped his head towards the older boy, who raised his eyebrows at him. “Don’t zone out, dude!” Minho hissed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, whoops</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought. He hadn’t noticed he was zoning out while looking at Jeongin and now he felt a little embarrassed. Jeongin also seemed to be a little abashed, judging from the slight pink on his cheeks, but it could also just be the lighting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhm… I’m glad you guys are here. You look good.” Jeongin began, his voice a bit low, but his words were clear above the soft background music. “You should get some drinks, too. There’s waiters bringing around champagne, but there’s also soda water on the buffet table over there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’ll get us some water.” Minho said, but before he walked away he faced Jeongin for a second. “You can start explaining things already, though. You don’t have to wait for me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t take too long, Minho.” Seungmin warned him and Minho nodded, rolling his eyes and waving him off. Seungmin then turned to the younger and faced him, his heart was pounding harshly in his chest, he was dreading the conversation with Jeongin, afraid he’d find out something incriminating. “Well… start talking, Jeongin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin’s eyes widened at Seungmin’s slightly snarky tone. “Wait… Are you guys suspecting that </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>have something to do with Hyunjin’s disappearance..?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>God damnit, he looks so innocent when he says things like that.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin had to remind himself not to cross Jeongin off the list of suspects before it was proven that he had an alibi or something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Seungmin told him simply, making Jeongin frown in confusion. “We know you blocked Hyunjin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin’s eyes widened again, but this time in recognition. He quickly raised his hands in front of his chest. “I— I know it looks bad, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t block him! It wasn’t my intention!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right at that moment, Minho returned with two glasses of soda water. He eyed Jeongin, probably noticing his uneasy expression. What he said sounded like excuses, but it was kind of a lame excuse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want some water too, Jeongin?” Minho asked him and Jeongin’s expression faltered, he probably didn’t understand that Minho was asking this in case it was better to leave them alone for a little longer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“N—No, I’m fine.” Jeongin declined, but Minho looked at Seungmin for his approval too and Seungmin nodded that it was fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were saying that it wasn’t you who blocked Hyunjin’s number? On your own phone?” Seungmin pulled the conversation back on track.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know that </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> sounds suspicious, but it’s the truth.” Jeongin murmured, fidgeting with a ring on his finger a bit, his important aura diminishing. He furrowed his brows, looking at his hands. “I… I invited you guys here to hire Seungmin to find out what happened to Hyunjin. I’m worried </span>
  <em>
    <span>sick</span>
  </em>
  <span> about him and…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin flicked his eyes around the hall and leaned a little closer to them. “Someone blocked Hyunjin on my phone, but I didn’t notice until yesterday, when I heard about Hyunjin’s disappearance and I tried to text him!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, he could be lying, but he could also be telling the truth. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin was again leaning towards believing Jeongin rather than not, but he should keep his options open. “What was Hyunjin’s last text to you about?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jeongin can’t see Hyunjin’s last text, because Hyunjin was already blocked.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suddenly sounded in Seungmin’s ear. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, okay, that explains Jeongin’s confused expression.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The last thing he sent you was </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘OK?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, for the record. Do you have any idea what that could refer to?” He clarified, but Jeongin shook his head. That was understandable, it was a pretty vague text. Seungmin then realized he should probably write everything down that Jeongin was saying, but the main hall wasn’t really a good place to do that. Jeongin was also looking around a little much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we… Uhm… Maybe we shouldn’t talk about Hyunjin too much here.” Jeongin whispered. “You guys can ask me questions, but… can I please hire you to find Hyunjin? I’ll make sure you guys have enough money and I won’t interfere if you guys don’t want that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin heard a sense of desperation in Jeongin’s whisper, a desperation he could relate to all too well. He turned to Minho, and he was shocked at the height he gained from his shoes for a second again. “What do you think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think we should accept it. I mean, we are already investigating Hyunjin’s disappearance. I think we can use all the help we can get.” The older boy said before taking a sip of his water. “He also seems willing to cooperate.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right.” Seungmin nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I think so too!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix agreed and Seungmin saw Minho have a mini heart attack again. He suppressed a laugh and turned to Jeongin again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, we’ll accept, but I don’t need money. Your cooperation is enough.” He told the younger and he heard Minho sigh next to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t want to be paid? How are you keeping your business intact, then?” Jeongin frowned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He isn’t.” Minho muttered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t be mean, Minho.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix scolded the older man and Minho took in a sharp breath before turning around and hissing something into his collar that sounded like </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Felix, stop speaking out of nowhere! I’m going to mute us!’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s okay, just mute yourself and unmute when you need me!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix assured them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho pushed the mute button and turned around with an innocent smile on his face. Jeongin squinted a bit, but Minho motioned him to continue speaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please let me help you guys out in some way. I know you'll search for… you know who no matter what, but I want to help too. I'm not smart enough to do things on my own.” Jeongin focused on Seungmin again, eyes pleading. He leaned closer and kept his voice low while speaking. “And… I think people are keeping an eye on me. I have no idea how Hyunjin’s number got blocked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, fine.” Seungmin relented. He couldn't resist the pleading eyes of the younger, which contrasted the powerful look he had earlier. “But we will have to ask you some more questions. Like, who is Ye—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin was interrupted by a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ding</span>
  </em>
  <span> sound and the music stopped. He didn't see what was going on right now and Minho was about to say something, but Jeongin shushed him, pointing to two figures getting on a small stage at one end of the big hall, replacing a couple of musicians. Seungmin only now noticed that the music had been played live. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good evening, everyone. We want to thank you all for coming tonight on such short notice to show your support in these trying times.” A woman dressed in all black began, probably Hyunjin's mother, but her face was partially covered by a thin lace veil, so Seungmin couldn't tell if she looked like Hyunjin, especially not from this distance. The man next to her did resemble Hyunjin somewhat, Seungmin thought, but he could be mistaken. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our dear son left home quite some time ago and we have been through a lot ever since then.” The woman spoke, her voice full of sadness. The man next to her laid a hand on her shoulder. “We miss him every day, but he never told us where he went and he never came to say hi. It was his own choice to leave here, but as a parent, we can't help but wonder how he's doing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, so they are indeed Hyunjin's parents. Are they talking about him moving to our crappy tiny town right now? It sounds like it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We tried to reach out to him, but when we finally found him, he was reported missing just a couple of days after!” Hyunjin's mother's voice wavered and she grabbed a handkerchief. “The police didn't even want to look into the case, saying they never even heard of the town—!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin’s father shushed her softly, helping her dab at her tears with the handkerchief, mumbling some words Seungmin couldn't hear from where he was standing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They found him a couple of days before he disappeared…? Hyunjin didn't want them to find him, it seems, so maybe he </span>
  </em>
  <span>did</span>
  <em>
    <span> disappear on his own? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But what about the signs of struggle behind the nightclub, then? And his bent keys? Why didn't Hyunjin say anything about not telling his parents where he was? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, she needs a moment.” Hyunjin's father spoke. “We are very grateful for you and your support when even the police don't bother looking into our son's disappearance. We hope our son will somehow feel your support and prayers and will find his way back. Hyunjin, we miss you dearly, please let us know if you are safe. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bowed a little and the parents left the stage, making room for the musicians to take the stage again and continue playing for a while. Seungmin let the words sink in for a while, it was still suspicious that the family had been so fast with sending out invitations, but it was hard to say if they just missed him a lot or if there was tension between them and this was all an act.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin contemplated what he should do now, should he and Minho talk to Jeongin somewhere in private, or should they split up that one of them would try talking about Hyunjin with his parents? He could also ask Jeongin to come with them, but maybe that would be a bad idea, since Jeongin said he might be being watched.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It could also be that Jeongin was guilty of something and that Hyunjin’s parents were innocent, and making him come with them to talk with Hyunjin’s parents could help him look more innocent by agreeing with everything they would say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he should ask Minho. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin looked to his side where Minho was </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> standing, but he was gone now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh? Where did he go?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin frowned and turned a full circle looking for the older boy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I told him not to run off! Where did he go?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you see where Minho went?” He asked Jeongin, but the younger shook his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought he was still next to you…” The boy murmured. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Great. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Now Seungmin had another thing to worry about. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> You know what? He probably just went to the bathroom and I missed him saying that. Or he saw someone…? I don’t know what he’s thinking… Either way, I guess I should trust him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, uhh… Can we speak somewhere privately, Jeongin?” Seungmin looked around one more time if he saw Minho somewhere. He guessed Minho did leave him with only one option: keep an eye on Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, let’s go to the guest room. No one comes there.” Jeongin motioned him to come with him. “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> someone comes there, we can just hide in the ensuite… </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or</span>
  </em>
  <span> we could pretend to be busy with something else, haha!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin cackled at his own words, but Seungmin just looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Busy</span>
  </em>
  <span> with something else…? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is he serious?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> He stopped in his tracks and Jeongin turned around, slowly stopping his laughter as he saw Seungmin’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Not funny?” Jeongin raised his eyebrows innocently. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, so he was joking, okay. Good.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin then chuckled and started walking again and Seungmin followed him, while still looking around to see if he could spot Minho somewhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry Seungmin, I’m not trying to seduce you, like, no offense or something.” Jeongin assured him. “But you gotta admit, it is a good way to get people to leave without being suspicious, even though it’s really embarrassing. Right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right—” Seungmin began, but he stopped himself as he thought he spotted Minho near the stage. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, did he try to talk to Hyunjin’s parents himself?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Did you find Minho?” Jeongin sounded from behind him. The clacking of his shoes betrayed that he was coming closer. “Ah, I see him. Looks like he’s watching the musicians? They’re pretty good.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Now is not the time to watch a performance, Minho! Jeez, what is he thinking? It does look like he’s just standing there, watching those three guys play fancy music, but why</span>
  </em>
  <span>— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait a second... </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin took a step closer to the stage, squinting. He ignored Jeongin’s questions of where he was going, because if what he thought he saw was correct, it would explain why Minho was standing there. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He shouldn’t get distracted, but…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you doing?” Jeongin grabbed his shoulder and tried to turn him around to make them face each other, but Seungmin resisted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have to get back before the buffet starts, so let’s get going.” Jeongin urged him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Right. I have something to do.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “You’re right, sorry. Let’s go.” He shook his head to try and shake his thoughts from earlier, because now was not the time to think about other things than the case. He couldn’t help but feel curiosity gnaw on his insides.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was that about?” Jeongin whispered as they made it to a long hallway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, nothing, just… Do you know who was playing just now?” He decided to ask anyway, else he would keep thinking about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, they are part of our permanent staff. Really nice guys.” Jeongin smiled. “They’re also pretty talented. Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, just— Uhh… They looked kinda familiar.” Seungmin told him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right! Your friends play music too, right?” Jeongin remembered. “Well, their names are Chan, Changbin and Jisung, if you’re interested.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. So I was right. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin opened a door to the guest room, which was probably fancy and big and pretty, but Seungmin really didn’t have the mind to pay attention to pretty rooms right now. Not when Jeongin had just told him that his best friends work for his crush’s parents. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are part of their permanent staff, nonetheless.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had </span>
  <em>
    <span>lied</span>
  </em>
  <span> to them. To Minho, Felix and him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why? Wait… Did Felix hear this…? No. I muted myself right before the speech.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin…? Are you okay?” Jeongin waved a hand in front of Seungmin’s face. “What about those musicians? Do you know them?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hell yes I know them. But I guess I thought I knew them better than I do.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 5</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh?</p><p>Next chapter more happenings at the residence!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. I legally can’t tell you too much</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Just after Hyunjin’s mother and father had ended their god awfully corny speech, they switched places with the musicians again, making room for them to continue playing music and that’s when Minho saw it. That’s when he saw him, actually. </p><p>That’s when he saw them. </p><p>He had to do a double, maybe even triple, take, because the musicians were playing fancy instruments like the violin and the cello, and they were wearing fancy clothes, but Minho could recognize those cheeks anywhere.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A direct continuation of the previous chapter, this time from Minho's perspective! Prepare for a little angst... but also for some soft content ^^</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Just after Hyunjin’s mother and father had ended their god awfully corny speech, they switched places with the musicians again, making room for them to continue playing music and that’s when Minho saw it. That’s when he saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, actually. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s when he saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>them.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had to do a double, maybe even triple, take, because the musicians were playing fancy instruments like the violin and the cello, and they were wearing fancy clothes, but Minho could recognize those cheeks </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He started walking towards the stage unconsciously, his body almost seemed to be moving on his own, pulled towards the stage like a magnet. The closer he got, the more certain he was about the fact that those three musicians were indeed his three friends he hadn’t seen in such a long time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho almost didn’t recognize them, as they were wearing such expensive looking clothes and they were playing instruments he didn’t even know that they had ever touched or even thought about playing. Their hair was styled in a way he had never seen on them and they were wearing dark makeup like he had never seen them wear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know what to think right now, a tornado of emotions rushing through his body. He felt angry and relieved at the same time. He felt betrayed and sad because </span>
  <em>
    <span>what the fuck are they doing here</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but he also felt grateful to see their faces and to see they were doing okay after so long. He hated that they were standing there, looking all expensive and professional, but he also felt admiration for them, and he couldn’t believe they learnt to play these kinds of instruments without telling them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stood there in front of the stage, taking in the scene. Jisung was playing the violin, his slender fingers with painted nails skillfully moving along the neck of the instrument, much like they would when he was playing the guitar, an instrument that Minho </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jisung could play, and had seen him do so quite a lot. His dark hair was parted at the side and swept back, showing his round face in full glory. His eyes were decorated with a thin black line and his lips were coloured a dark plum.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes were focused on his instrument and Minho had to will himself not to stare for too long in admiration and disbelief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan was playing what Minho thought was a viola—</span>
  <em>
    <span> that's what a big violin is called, right?</span>
  </em>
  <span>— his fingers moving like Minho had never seen before. His dark curls were carefully styled around his face and the dark makeup on his eyes accentuated the paleness of his skin, making him look like a vampire even more than usual. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He should really go outside more.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan wasn't wearing any lipstick, which was really a shame, it would suit him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But that's not important right now. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lastly there was Changbin sitting on a stool, a cello placed between his short legs. He also had his hair pushed back, but not parted, like Jisung. Minho couldn't see his outfit as it was partly obscured by the instrument, but he was also wearing dark eyeshadow and eyeliner and his lips were coloured slightly darker, it looked like lipgloss. All three of them had their nails painted a deep black. It was very gothic, but it fit the theme of the event.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sight of the three was mesmerizing, but also infuriating. He couldn't believe that they hadn't told them about this. Minho gritted his teeth, unsure of what to do with himself. He really wanted to step up onto the stage and yell at them. Or hug them. Or shake them until the awfully bittersweet feeling that was eating him up would go away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho looked away for a second and when he looked back, his gaze met Jisung’s, the latter’s eyes growing big and wide, while Minho kept his expression as neutral as he could, while still conveying his </span>
  <em>
    <span>what the fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> message. The younger faltered in his playing for a second, making Chan and Changbin look at him and follow his gaze towards Minho.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. It’s me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Minho</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He said, not caring about that he was disturbing their performance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh— What are you doing here?” Chan stuttered and he made a mistake in playing as well, so he frowned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> was invited here. What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> guys doing here? Is this that private gig you were talking about? Since when do you guys even play these instruments?!” Minho asked and he saw that the three wanted to answer, but they were too focused on playing, so they stayed quiet after Changbin mouthed something like </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘let’s do this later’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He contemplated just keeping talking to them, but maybe that would be too cruel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a minute or so the song came to an end and so Minho raised his eyebrows at the trio on the stage. Chan, Changbin and Jisung exchanged a look with each other, expression guilty and hesitant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jisung, you talk to him.” Changbin suddenly decided, shooing Jisung off the stage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Why me?” Jisung pointed to himself in confusion. It hurt a little to see that they didn’t want to talk to him that bad. Well— actually it hurt a lot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You wrote the letters. We’ll cover for you.” Changbin answered while Chan was chewing on his lower lip— </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe that’s why he isn’t wearing lipstick.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jisung was flicking his eyes between Minho and the other two musicians. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I—It’s a good thing, ‘Sungie. Like, yeah, you have to explain some things for us, but you can also see Minho first.” Chan told him and Jisung nodded. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are they really not excited to see me? Well maybe they’re just hesitant because they have a lot to explain and they can see I’m not particularly happy either.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung put his violin down and stepped off the stage and the fact that Minho was seeing him again was really hitting him now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good lord I have missed them.</span>
  </em>
  <span> As Jisung stood in front of him, their height difference was even more obvious because of Minho’s heels, even though Jisung was also wearing shoes with heels.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s been a while.” Was the first thing Jisung said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No shit.” Minho answered. And maybe his tone was a little more snappy than needed, because Jisung winced. Minho murmured a quick apology, but he wasn’t sure if Jisung heard him, because he still looked hesitant.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry… I can explain, but… Let’s go somewhere else for a second.” The younger reached for Minho’s arm, but changed his mind after looking at Minho’s face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That wasn’t what Minho was trying to achieve.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took Jisung’s hand and placed it on his elbow himself. “I’m not going to bite you, ‘Sung. I’m just— I’m just shocked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Jisung curled his fingers around Minho’s elbow and started walking. This was definitely not how he imagined their reunion would go, but life was full of surprises, Minho guessed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stopped once they were in the corner of a long hallway and Jisung turned around and leaned back against the wall a bit. “So, uhm… we could also go to our quarters, but they’ll come looking for me there—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>quarters</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Minho was exasperated. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They live here? What else don’t I know!</span>
  </em>
  <span> “What the fuck.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh… yeah, that’s part of what I was going to tell you.” Jisung fidgeted with his hands a little, his eyes flicking up to Minho’s face and down to his hands repeatedly. “Well, first off all, we really missed you—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, Jisung. Cut the crap!” He snapped and Jisung flinched back. Minho regretted it, but he was also just </span>
  <em>
    <span>angry</span>
  </em>
  <span> right now and he knew Jisung wasn’t made of glass, he could handle this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not lying! Why are you being so snappy, Minho?” The younger defended himself, now looking Minho straight in the eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Because I’m angry! And </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jisung furrowed his eyebrows, as if he didn’t understand what Minho was saying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>As if.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I haven’t seen you guys in </span>
  <em>
    <span>months</span>
  </em>
  <span> and I have barely heard from you ‘cause you guys don’t want to text or call for some reason, then I get a letter from you guys saying we still can’t see you. Then I come </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> because my roommate is missing and I see you guys, playing the </span>
  <em>
    <span>violin</span>
  </em>
  <span> and shit, and I almost don’t even recognize you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Then</span>
  </em>
  <span> I find out you guys have been keeping </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> from us and you don’t even seem like you want to talk to me.” Minho hoped his voice wouldn’t break, but his eyes were already stinging. “Don’t you know how much that hurts? I missed you guys </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much. I missed </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> so much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung was just quietly looking at him with big and worried eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop that.</span>
  </em>
  <span> At least he didn’t seem scared of Minho’s angry outbreak, even though Minho basically had him cornered against the wall. Not that Jisung didn’t go and stand against the wall himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I— We— Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> we missed you too! It’s just complicated…” Jisung hesitantly put a hand on Minho’s arm, his touch so light Minho almost didn’t feel it through his suit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought we would tell each other everything.” Minho sighed. The hand on his arm reassured him a bit, but he was still frustrated about the whole thing. “I thought… I thought you and I were close.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho…” Jisung let his hand trail down the older boy’s arm to his hand to hold it. He had to pry Minho’s hands apart first, but he didn’t give up until their hands were linked. Minho eventually relented, he had to admit he missed this, he had missed holding his friend’s hand. “I’m sorry. I understand how you feel, but we signed a contract. It’s— It’s a long story, but I’ll tell you all of it. We didn’t mean to make you feel left out, I was just afraid because I legally </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> tell you too much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He </span>
  </em>
  <span>legally</span>
  <em>
    <span> can’t tell me too much? </span>
  </em>
  <span>That sounded like… a strange excuse, one even Jisung wouldn’t come up with easily. Minho guessed he could imagine a rich family like this forbidding their staff from talking to others too much about things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking his time to let things sink in made Minho calm a bit, seeing Jisung’s guilty expression even made him laugh a little. “What kind of trouble did you guys get into </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung paused for a moment, confused about what was funny, before a smile formed on his face and he rushed forward to hurl Minho into a bone crushing hug. Minho stumbled backwards, quickly wrapping his arms around Jisung’s waist to steady them both. It was a warm hug. He had missed this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeah, he had Felix to hug at home, even Hyunjin sometimes, but something about having his arms wrapped around Jisung’s miniscule waist was just so nice and familiar. He hoped that he wasn’t crushing Jisung, but if he was, Jisung didn’t mention it. It wasn’t like Jisung wasn’t squeezing him tight either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s actually pretty funny.” Jisung chuckled, breath tickling Minho’s neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you let me go, you can tell me the whole story.” Minho rubbed a hand along Jisung’s back, secretly not wanting to let go yet, but he shouldn’t let himself get too soft right now. He shouldn’t forget that they were here to look for Hyunjin, but since Jisung apparently worked here, for Hyunjin’s family, listening to the story of how he got here could be important.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That, and if he wouldn’t get to hear what had happened to his friends that they ended up here </span>
  <em>
    <span>right now</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he definitely wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else for the rest of the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just a little longer.” The boy whispered. “I need to show you how much I missed you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho let out a laugh. Jisung really didn't have to show him how much he had missed him, but Minho guessed he didn't mind to hug a little longer. But he would only not mind if it was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>longer, because he was getting a bit too warm and a little bit too… </span>
  <em>
    <span>emotional</span>
  </em>
  <span> for his liking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily Jisung pulled out of the hug with a small smile on his face, but Minho didn't think that this was much of an improvement from a couple of seconds ago, because now he could see Jisung’s face again, and his slightly pink cheeks and those lips coloured with dark plum were doing things to him all of a sudden. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, enough stalling, let’s get going, I have some other things to do.” Minho decided to hurry things up a little. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Seungmin might be looking for me? Nah, if he’s smart he lets me do my own thing while he focuses on the case.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t tell me why </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> are here yet.” Jisung stated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll tell you after. Now stop stalling!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> are the one still holding on to me, though.” The younger boy pointed out to him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho quickly let go, hoping that Jisung wouldn’t notice the blush that was creeping up to his neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.” He murmured quickly, making Jisung laugh a little. It was a nice sound to hear, he had missed that too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, sorry. I’ll start talking now.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jisung started from the beginning, from when the three musicians had left their tiny crappy town to look for opportunities to start up their career in music. Minho remembered that they had found a couple of audition opportunities somewhere and that they were planning on staying in a motel for a while until they’d find an apartment or something. Apparently one of those ‘auditions’ was actually a job offer at the Hwang residence which they had found through the grapevine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At first they had thought that they wouldn’t stand a chance, since they didn’t exactly make ‘fancy’ music, but since it was a job partly as a servant as well as personal musician, and their employers had thought that they were diligent and hard-working, they had gotten a real offer anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And so we got the offer to sign a contract here.” Jisung said and Minho nodded, listening intently as he tried to engrave every word in his memory in case it could be important. “The thing is that we only briefly scanned over the contract and didn’t read the details before signing it…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho snorted. That didn’t sound like them a lot, but if they were desperate, he could imagine them just signing without reading into the details of the agreement too much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But! Listen,” Jisung held his hand up, signalling that he would try to explain their thought process. “They told us that they would educate us for free in other instruments, like the violin and stuff. And they’d give us the freedom to create our own music in our own time! </span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span> this pays a lot! We didn’t expect the agreement to say that they’d manage our phone records and stuff!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh…” </span>
  <em>
    <span>That explains a lot.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho knew how much his three friends were eager to learn, and it wasn’t like there were opportunities freely lying up for grabs, so he understood why they had just signed the contract without thinking about it too much. He would almost even understand it if they signed it </span>
  <em>
    <span>knowing</span>
  </em>
  <span> their phones would be monitored.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We… We also couldn’t tell people too much about where we are working, because of privacy reasons or something, I didn’t really get all the fancy talk in the contract, but… yeah.” Jisung sighed. “We just decided to not text and call at all anymore, I thought letters would be nice too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, I get it.” Minho assured him. “Just… Are you guys happy here? Do you like this work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah. I mean, I don’t really like </span>
  <em>
    <span>cleaning</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but I don’t have to do that very often.” Jisung told him with a chuckle. “They provide us with everything we need and the three of us have plenty of time to work on our own things aside from taking lessons. I learned </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the past couple of months and our music has really improved. So yeah, I like it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho nodded. That was good. As long as they were happy, Minho guessed he could forgive them for keeping some things from them. He understood that they couldn’t tell them about learning to play things like the viola and the cello without getting questioned about </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> or how they could afford lessons. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily the universe had brought them together eventually, so now Minho knew. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or did Hyunjin bring us together?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Either way, Minho was content now that he had heard the story. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow.” Jisung suddenly breathed. Minho raised an eyebrow at the younger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, nothing— I just, I kinda dreaded telling you this, because I knew it was a kind of stupid excuse not to see you and stuff, but we really did miss you guys so much and I guess I just feel a lot better now that at least you know what happened.” Jisung rambled. “You can tell Felix and Seungmin, by the way. And your roommate! Wait— Didn’t you say he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>missing</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Right, it’s your turn to talk—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jisung.” Minho stopped him and frowned a little. He thought he heard something. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is someone coming this way?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I was rambling, but you can—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Minho pressed a finger against Jisung’s lips before looking back to see if someone was coming. He didn’t see anything, but he definitely heard a door open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit.” Jisung whispered as Minho lowered his finger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Han Jisung?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>It sounded from the other end of the hallway. That voice definitely didn’t belong to Chan or Changbin. Minho’s eyes grew wide and he looked at Jisung. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What do we do now? Should we hide? Is this someone benevolent? Are you in trouble?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe they’re just checking up on me, but…” Jisung’s expression said it was likely that he was in trouble. “I don’t know what Chan and Changbin said, so…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So? What do we do?” Minho looked back and saw a figure appear. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck!</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Jisung! Someone’s coming.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung peeked over Minho’s shoulder to see but he quickly ducked back, hiding his tiny figure behind Minho. He looked at Minho with a slightly panicked expression. It was too late to hide now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Should I just turn around and hide Jisung behind me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho was about to turn around when Jisung murmured something Minho didn’t quite hear and took a hold of Minho’s head with his two hands, making them face each other again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here I come.” Jisung whispered quickly before he put one of his thumbs right in the middle of Minho’s lips and pulled his head closer without further warning. Minho stumbled forward and had to steady himself against the wall with his hands, trapping Jisung between his two arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were very close already, but Jisung didn’t stop pulling until his lips were against his own thumb so that for anyone standing behind them it would look like they were kissing. Minho only just managed to pull himself together enough for him to relax and pretend to be kissing the younger back. He brought his hands down to Jisung’s hips, only touching him very lightly, because his skin was already burning from being so close.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their intense proximity was hard to ignore and Minho’s heart was bouncing in his chest so loud and quick that there was no way that the person looking for Jisung wouldn’t be able to hear it as well. He was so shocked that he almost forgot to close his eyes, so he quickly squeezed them shut, hoping that having his eyes closed would calm him a bit as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung tilted his head a bit, their noses brushing a little in the process and Minho felt like he was going to explode if Jisung would move any more, but then he also felt Jisung’s fingers move along the side and back of his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lord help me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho let out an involuntary whimper as he had forgotten to breathe. He felt Jisung’s hands relax on his face and he cracked open his eyes to see Jisung’s eyes open slightly as well. Jisung pulled back only a millimeter or two, but Minho could still hear footsteps behind him so he just pushed forward. He was already exploding, might as well finish this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung understood what Minho was trying to do and so they continued their fake kissing. The footsteps now sounded from right behind them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Minho heard and then some more mumbling before he heard receding footsteps. They kept going until they heard the sound of a closing door. Immediately after that sound, Jisung pushed them apart with a soft gasp. His face was red and Minho was glad he wasn’t the only one affected. Minho was also slightly panting. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keep it together, gosh. Now is not the time for my feelings to render me useless.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly Jisung was giggling, his eyes crinkling at the edges cutely. Minho furrowed his eyebrows at him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is he laughing at me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re… Your face is bright red.” He grinned, reaching out to rub the shell of Minho’s burning ear between the tips of his fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pfft— You just surprised me.” Minho scoffed, swatting Jisung’s hand away. “And I kinda forgot to breathe— But— It’s not like your cheeks aren’t red too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The younger chuckled, taking his hand back to scratch his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, I thought you heard my first warning, but I had my doubts because… yeah. So I warned you again, but apparently that wasn’t enough.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho didn’t know what to say to that, so he stayed silent, letting himself calm down for a second while enjoying the sight of Jisung’s rose tinted cheeks. He should have expected Jisung to start talking again, because Jisung was a nervous talker, but it took longer than Minho had expected. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He flicked his eyes up to Jisung’s, and caught him staring. (Not that Minho himself wasn’t staring, too.) Jisung quickly looked away. “Uhh… You— Did I cross the line? With… with the whole distraction thing? Because you— you let out a sound and I—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay.” Minho interrupted him before the younger could start rambling again. “As I said, I kinda forgot to breathe. Your distraction thing worked, so… it’s fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung smiled again and it was his contagious relieved smile, so Minho couldn’t help but mirror his expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you pretend to kiss your coworkers often to get out of tasks?” Minho teased him a little and Jisung’s face grew redder in colour. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mission accomplished.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Of course not! I would be fired immediately!” Jisung defended himself, before he shook his head and sighed. “Why am I even justifying myself to you, I know you’re not serious… Hey! Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> are stalling! Come on, let’s go somewhere we can sit and get you out of your heels— your feet are probably sore by now— There you can tell me how you got here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung now took Minho’s elbow with confidence and started walking somewhere. Minho just smiled. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You gotta hurry up a little, because if we’re not back when the buffet starts, we are </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> in trouble.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 6</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The first reunion! </p><p>Next chapter more at the Hwang residence</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. He needed evidence. Physical evidence, preferably</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Maybe he should ask some more about Yeji and what she was doing in their town that day. </p><p>“About what you said earlier—” He began, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Oh no. Jeongin’s eyes went wide as he jumped up from the bed. </p><p>“I thought you said no one would—” </p><p>Another knock.</p><p>“I did!”</p><p>“Well— What do we do now?”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another part at the Hwang mansion! Seungmin speaks to Jeongin and Hyunjin's parents and gets to know their view on Hyunjin's disappearance.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seungmin banned Chan, Changbin and Jisung from his mind for now, if Minho was talking to them, he’d hear about whatever was going on with them from him. Right now his priority was talking to Jeongin and finding out what he knew. Jeongin plopped on the big bed that was right across from the door against the back wall and he waited for Seungmin to either come sit next to him or stand across from him.</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin did the latter and pulled out his notebook. “Okay, tell me what you know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh… Where should I start?” Jeongin looked up at the ceiling, face scrunching a little in thought. “As I said, I only heard about Hyunjin’s disappearance from his parents and I only noticed that his number was blocked on my phone then, so I immediately thought that maybe it was my fault that they found Hyunjin… I can’t find him on my own, though, that’s why I sent you guys the invitation and stuff.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, what? It was your fault that <em> who </em> found Hyunjin? His family?” Seungmin frowned. There was really a lot that Hyunjin hadn’t told them about the circumstances and reasons from when he moved to their little town.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah… Hyunjin, uhm, kinda ran away from home? Sort of? I… I think they found him through me somehow.” Jeongin’s expression became a bit careful, as if he wasn’t sure if he could say too much about this. Or as if he wasn’t exactly sure what happened. Maybe Hyunjin hadn’t told him everything either. </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin motioned for Jeongin to continue speaking. “It’s okay, what you’re telling me will only reach Minho and Felix’s ears. It’s for Hyunjin.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know…” Jeongin sighed. “I just wish I knew <em> more </em> . Look, he didn’t tell me the exact reason for leaving home, probably because I’m not that reliable or something. I don't know. He <em> said </em> it was because he just wanted to live a simple life— That’s what he told you guys as well, right?” </p><p> </p><p>Jeongin looked up for confirmation and Seungmin nodded. “Yeah, but I also think it has something to do with him not wanting to do anything with his parents’ company— But you didn’t hear that from me!”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not.” Seungmin assured the younger, but he found his behaviour a little strange. “But, why are you so on edge about this?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just— Hyunjin didn’t want to be found by his parents. Or by his family in general.” Jeongin looked down at his hands and chewed on his lower lip. “I— I don’t know why. Maybe it’s nothing, but I think it’s just <em> creepy </em> that just when his parents found out where he was, he disappeared. I think they even sent Yeji there to look for him or something,” <em> Yeji? She is related to Hyunjin? </em> “but Yeji… I don’t know if she knows anything. We were both getting kinda suspicious— Sorry I am making <em> no </em> sense—”</p><p> </p><p>“Jeongin.” Seungmin took a step closer to the bed, the younger looking up at him with a pained expression. “Take a deep breath. Calm down, gather your thoughts, you know a lot more about Hyunjin than I do, so you’re really helping me out already.”</p><p> </p><p>Jeongin followed Seungmin’s instructions and took a deep breath. “Okay, sorry.” Seungmin felt bad for the younger, but a little voice kept nagging at him to not fall for it, in case this was all just an act. <em> I really really really hope this is not an act. </em>Seungmin wanted to believe in him so bad.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know <em> why </em> Hyunjin didn’t want anything to do with his parents’ company? Was he forced to work for them?” He continued, still standing in front of the younger who was seated on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think so? He just thought things could be handled differently, but he was never forced to work there, I think.” Jeongin said. <em> Hmmm… So does it have anything to do with their difference in opinion on that or not? But if he had decided on his own to let things go and </em> not <em> work for the company, why would that be a problem? </em></p><p> </p><p>Maybe he should ask some more about Yeji and what she was doing in their town that day. </p><p> </p><p>“About what you said earlier—” He began, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. <em> Oh no. </em>Jeongin’s eyes went wide as he jumped up from the bed. </p><p> </p><p>“I thought you said no one would—” </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Another knock. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“I did!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well— What do we do now?” Seungmin panicked a little. The only thing his stupid brain came up with right now was Jeongin’s stupid suggestion. “Should we— Uhh, you know?” </p><p> </p><p>Before Jeongin could answer there was another knock and then the door creaked a little.</p><p> </p><p><em> Fuck, we didn’t lock the door </em>— </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly Seungmin felt two hands on his shoulders. Jeongin forcefully and sloppily pulled Seungmin’s jacket off before violently throwing him on the bed. Before he could process what was going on, Jeongin was right on top of him, jacket off, legs on either side of Seungmin’s hips, hands on either side of his face and his upper body bent over him. <em> Fuck. Since when is he so strong?  </em></p><p> </p><p>Seungmin froze for a second, overwhelmed by the other’s sudden closeness—Jeongin definitely had gotten his intimidating vibe back—before he turned his mind off and shoved his hands onto the sides of Jeongin’s neck and pulled him even closer. </p><p> </p><p>He really didn’t want to move too much right now, but otherwise their act would be unconvincing, so he just squeezed his eyes and mouth shut and wiggled around a little bit, rubbing his hands along Jeongin’s neck and shoulders shakily. He felt Jeongin tense under his touch.</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin was quite tense as well, because <em> this </em>—Jeongin trapping him on the bed, their faces so close that Seungmin felt the other's breath on his face, mingling with his own, his hands on Jeongin's neck where he could feel the boy's rapid pulse matching his own—was already way too embarrassing and overwhelming for him, but when he felt a hand on his chest, fumbling the buttons on his dress shirt, he really panicked and almost threw Jeongin off of him—</p><p> </p><p>“Jesus christ, Jeongin!” A girl yelled and Seungmin sharply inhaled, making Jeongin sit up and look back, giving Seungmin some much needed space to breathe. <em> God bless.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Jesus, don’t yell—! Yeji?” Jeongin asked, he sounded a little out of breath, Seungmin could relate, but fortunately he soon forgot about his embarrassment as he heard that name again. <em> Yeji? </em> Seungmin craned his neck a little to see the same girl he saw at the pizza place that day, but now she was dressed way more fancily than when he first saw her— <em> Right? What was she wearing then? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Sorry— I’ll leave, I was just—” Yeji chuckled awkwardly and she reached back for the door before she took a double take and frowned. “Hey— I <em> know </em>you!”</p><p> </p><p>She pointed her finger right at Seungmin, before shaking her head and holding her hands up and closing her eyes. “Sorry! I’ll definitely leave now, you guys can continue! I have seen <em> nothing </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait!” Seungmin stopped her and he hated how out of breath he sounded. He sat up slowly and Jeongin got off of his lap. “Stay here for a second.” </p><p> </p><p>Yeji frowned, before her eyes got wide in shock and horror. She pointed at herself. “You… You guys want me to stay…? Sorry, but I’m not really <em> into </em> that kind of—”</p><p> </p><p>“NO!” Seungmin and Jeongin yelled simultaneously. Just when Seungmin thought the colour of his face was going back to normal! Now he had to calm down all over again. <em> Don't think about what she's thinking. Do </em> not <em> think about what she's thinking!  </em></p><p> </p><p>“We weren’t doing anything!” Jeongin told her.</p><p> </p><p>“Really? But it looked like—” Yeji gestured vaguely in their direction. <em> Good lord please drop it. </em></p><p> </p><p>“I <em> know </em> what it looked like.” </p><p> </p><p>“Okay. Well— You guys don’t have to be embarrassed, I won’t tell anyone.” The girl assured them, her eyebrows raised. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Yeji! </em>” Jeongin whined. “It was a distraction technique!” </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, if you guys say so.” She shrugged and Seungmin <em> heard </em> Jeongin roll his eyes at her. The younger got up and grabbed both of their jackets before tossing Seungmin his jacket and notebook.</p><p> </p><p>“Seungmin is here to investigate Hyunjin’s disappearance.” Jeongin said as he fixed his hair a little while looking into the mirror of a vanity on the side of the room. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay but that doesn’t mean that you two can’t—”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Drop it! </em>” Jeongin snapped at her, but Yeji just laughed. At least she could find humour in this situation, Seungmin just felt icky and embarrassed. Yeji then faced Seungmin and gave him a curious look. </p><p> </p><p><em> Right. </em>Now was his time to start asking questions again. He should really learn how to handle these kinds of situations better. He cleared his throat and opened his notebook. He took his pen in his hands and he was glad his hands weren't shaking. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes. You were in our town a couple of days before Hyunjin’s disappearance. What were you doing there?” His voice came out a little more breathy than he wanted, but whatever. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that.” Yeji nodded. “My aunt and uncle— Hyunjin’s parents asked me to confirm if Hyunjin was actually living there, but they didn’t want to scare him, so they asked me to go. I missed him, so I went there and I saw him.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Okay. </em>Seungmin couldn’t tell if that was suspicious or considerate of them. “Why didn’t you talk to him if you missed him?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because he didn’t talk to me.” Yeji pouted a little. “I saw that he saw me, but he just walked away, so I thought that he didn’t want to talk to me. I didn’t want to cause a fuss, so I just left.” </p><p> </p><p>“Did you two fight before he left?” Seungmin asked next.</p><p> </p><p>“No…? I don’t know why he would be mad at me, but he’s always been a bit sensitive and I have always been a bit dense, so maybe it’s obvious why he didn’t want to talk to me, but I just didn’t notice.” The girl awkwardly scratched her neck. <em> She’s right about that, but he’s never been mad at me without me knowing why </em> — <em> Wait… has he ever been mad at me at all? </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Not important. Stay on track, Seungmin.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Did Hyunjin fight with anyone else that you know of?” He asked, and made sure to look at Jeongin as well, to signal he could answer this as well. He still couldn’t look at the younger for too long before the embarrassing memories from earlier came flashing before his eyes again, though, so he quickly looked at Yeji again.</p><p> </p><p>“Not that I know of…” Jeongin answered, but Yeji was still thinking. </p><p> </p><p>“Uhh… I don’t know if this is relevant, but I heard my parents talk on the phone with Hyunjin’s parents a couple of weeks ago and they sounded kind of… offended?” She told him. “Like, as if they heard that someone had thrown rotten eggs at Hyunjin’s parents or something, I don’t know. I think I heard them say Hyunjin’s name as well.” </p><p> </p><p><em> Hyunjin may have had a fight with his parents a couple of weeks ago? But I thought he didn’t want to be found. </em> </p><p> </p><p>“Huh? You said a couple of weeks ago, right? After Hyunjin left home.” Seungmin asked to clarify and Yeji nodded to confirm.</p><p> </p><p>“But I thought Hyunjin didn’t want to be found? Did they talk to him? Did <em> he </em> talk to them?” </p><p> </p><p>“I have<em> no </em> idea. Sorry, this is all I remember.” Yeji gave him an apologetic look.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys!” Jeongin suddenly stood up, looking at his wrist watch. “We need to go back now. The buffet is about to start!” </p><p> </p><p>“Shit. Let’s go.” Yeji immediately turned around and rushed out of the room. Seungmin pocketed his notebook quickly. Apparently it was a big deal to be on time. Maybe it was especially for family and close friends a big deal to be present for the buffet, since the hosts would notice them missing.</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin felt a hand on his wrist and he jumped at the sudden touch from Jeongin. <em> Jesus christ, I need to stop being so jumpy. Get over yourself, Min! </em> </p><p> </p><p>“Sorry!” Jeongin squeaked. “But we need to go, come on. And uhh…” </p><p> </p><p>Jeongin gestured at Seungmin’s hair. <em> Ah, I should fix my hair before we leave. </em>He took a quick look in the vanity mirror he saw Jeongin look into earlier and fixed his hair a little before they rushed out. </p><p> </p><p>They started walking down the hallway back to the main hall together and Seungmin could feel the tense atmosphere between them. <em> Shit. I don’t need this right now. </em> He really didn’t want to worry about things being awkward between him and Jeongin, but he wasn’t planning on losing a friend over him being stupid and awkward, the only reason he would accept losing Jeongin was if he was behind this whole thing, not <em> this </em>.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry.” He whispered and Jeongin looked at him sideways with a confused look. Seungmin really didn’t want to talk about it right now, but it was bothering him, so he needed to say something to get this icky feeling out of his system. “I’ll stop being awkward, I just— I don’t want things to become awkward, between us, because of what happened just now, but I feel weird, maybe because I kind of have feelings for Hyunjin and—”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re still being awkward, Seungmin.” Jeongin deadpanned and Seungmin scowled, but the younger then let out a bit of a shaky breath and chuckled. “No, it’s okay. It was— I went too far. I’m sorry. I— I was joking at first and I thought doing something like that would be harmless… I thought it wouldn't make things awkward, but I didn’t mean anything with it!”</p><p> </p><p>“I know. I just needed to hear that, I guess.” He said. A small smile now threatened to form on Seungmin’s face. Jeongin was explaining himself so cutely, he was glad the younger could calm him again, after… well, stressing him out so much. Jeongin laughed and gave Seungmin a playful push. They both let out their nerves and they entered the main hall feeling fine again.</p><p> </p><p>They were just in time, because Hyunjin’s parents just announced that they were going to open the buffet. Seungmin noticed Minho slipping inside the room, followed by a slender figure— <em> Jisung? </em> </p><p> </p><p>Minho made his way to Seungmin and the other person dashed off the other way. Seungmin wanted to glare at him, but he knew it would be useless. And, if Minho had spoken to Jisung just now, he would be very grateful to him. He couldn’t wait to hear about them. He’d rather see them, but he’d honestly take what he could get. </p><p> </p><p>If they really worked here, it would probably be hard for them to free up more time to talk to Seungmin too, so it would be better for him to focus on the case— unless of course his friends were involved. </p><p> </p><p>Minho came to stand <em> right </em> next to Seungmin and the latter could feel the former’s eagerness to tell him something. </p><p> </p><p>“Did you talk to Jisung?” He whispered to his friend, while Jeongin led them to stand in line for the buffet. Minho was about to say something, but then Hyunjin’s parents came to join them, greeting Jeongin and them, so Minho immediately gave them a polite smile and bowed a little.</p><p> </p><p>“Jeonginnie! We’ve been looking for you all night, how are you?” Hyunjin’s mother greeted Jeongin, who smiled and assured her that he was okay, but Seungmin couldn’t tell if it was out of habit or because he was actually glad to see them. The couple then turned to Minho and Seungmin.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t believe we have had the pleasure of meeting yet,” Hyunjin’s father held out his hand for them to shake. “You probably know who we are already, but we are Mr and Mrs Hwang. I believe Jeongin has invited you two…?” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin took the hand and shook it, a little surprised by the firmness of the handshake, but he guessed this man was well-versed in hand-shaking. “Yes, that’s right. My name is—” </p><p><br/>Seungmin suddenly remembered that Hyunjin’s parents had read their town’s newspaper and thus that they might know that he is a private investigator. He wondered if he should lie about his name, or leave out his last name in case they would become careful, knowing his profession. </p><p> </p><p>There was also always the option that they genuinely were concerned for their son and would be glad to know a private investigator was investigating their son’s disappearance. In that case, lying would come back to bite him later. </p><p> </p><p>“—Seungmin.” He settled on, giving the two a polite smile. “This is Minho, we are Hyunjin’s friends.” </p><p> </p><p>“Hi.” Minho greeted the couple again.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you guys are from that town where he lives now? Jeongin, how do you know these two?” Hyunjin’s father now turned to Jeongin, who kept a composed demeanor, but Seungmin noticed he was fidgeting with his ring behind his back. <em> He’s nervous. </em></p><p> </p><p>“We actually found him while looking for Hyunjin!” Seungmin stepped in. “Hyunjin had mentioned a friend of his named Jeongin and when he disappeared our first thought was that he was maybe visiting his friend after a long time, so we did some research and we found him through that, actually.” </p><p> </p><p>Jeongin nodded, his slightly forced smile turning relieved. “Yeah, they told me that they were concerned for their friend, so I thought I’d invite them so that they could show their support.”</p><p> </p><p>“How nice of you, darling.” Mrs Hwang put a hand on Jeongin’s arm gently. “We’d love to hear about what our son has been up to while being away, so why don’t you three gentlemen join us at the table later?” </p><p> </p><p>The woman pointed her finger towards the archway leading to the dining hall. “We’re sitting at the table at the back of the hall.” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin supposed that they didn’t have much of a choice but to agree, so he nodded. This could be a good opportunity to find out some more about motive, but he had to play his cards right, because there was still the possibility that he would be helping the culprits by giving Hyunjin’s parents information about his life how Seungmin came to know it.</p><p> </p><p>That, <em> and </em> Hyunjin hadn’t told his parents about anything for a reason, right? Even Jeongin had kept his visits to their town a secret. Either way, he should be careful about sharing too much.</p><p> </p><p>Mr and Mrs Hwang waved them goodbye for now and it was about their turn to get some food at the buffet. Seungmin hoped they’d have enough time for Minho to tell him about what he had been doing while Seungmin was interrogating Jeongin and Yeji. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so I spoke to Jisung, yes.” Minho immediately began in a low voice as they picked up a plate to stash their food upon—<em> correction </em>, to have their food stashed upon, because of course they had people to do that for them here. There was no music playing anymore and Seungmin wondered if that meant that his friends were helping at the buffet too.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought I saw them, yeah. Jeongin told me they work here.” Seungmin supplied. </p><p> </p><p>Minho began telling him about how their three friends had come to work here at a pretty fast pace, apparently he had a lot to say, but Seungmin understood. Minho told him that he had told Jisung about the whole Hyunjin thing too and it turned out that Chan, Changbin and Jisung started working here a couple of weeks before Hyunjin left.</p><p> </p><p><em> They know Hyunjin? </em> </p><p> </p><p>“Did they tell Hyunjin about where they used to live?” Seungmin couldn’t help but wonder if that’s how Hyunjin found their town, because otherwise this would be a really crazy coincidence. </p><p> </p><p>“Uhh… I don’t think so.” Minho answered. “Jisung was really shocked to see me and to hear that we know Hyunjin… I also told Felix everything, by the way. Jisung wanted to speak to him as well.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Right. Felix! </em> Seungmin had completely forgotten to turn on his communication device again, he’d do that after getting food. Seungmin told Minho what he had discussed with Yeji and Jeongin earlier, conveniently leaving out a couple of details about what happened when Yeji had knocked on the door, because he didn’t want those kind of images haunting him when speaking to Hyunjin’s parents. And he didn’t want Minho to laugh at him.   </p><p> </p><p>Minho didn’t have time to tell Seungmin about his thoughts on the matter, because they had filled their plates, so they should probably make their way to join the Hwangs in the dining hall. </p><p> </p><p>“So,” Mr Hwang started as the three got seated at the table. “How was our son’s life there? Was he happy? Did he tell you anything about where he came from?” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin and Minho shared a look briefly, silently debating who should start talking. These questions were probably harmless, so Minho could definitely answer them, Seungmin supposed.</p><p> </p><p>“Well— compared to this home, he definitely downgraded. A lot.” Minho chuckled. “But he never complained. I had no idea that he came from a wealthy family, from the way he acted to what he told us about his life before he moved to our tiny town.” </p><p> </p><p>“Really?” Mrs Hwang linked her hands and tilted her head in interest. “He never mentioned us? Or why he left?” </p><p> </p><p>“He told us he wanted peace and quiet.” Seungmin told them. “Did… did he not tell you?” </p><p> </p><p>“No, at least… not directly.” Mrs Hwang sighed. <em> Not directly? </em> Seungmin gave the woman a curious look, silently asking her to elaborate. “He had voiced his… how should I phrase it?— His <em> displeasure </em> about some things, but never did we expect that he didn’t feel at home here.” </p><p> </p><p>This sounded a lot like what Jeongin had told Seungmin earlier— Hyunjin and his parents disagreed about something, Jeongin said it had to do with how the business was run, and Hyunjin’s parents made it sound like it didn’t have anything to do with the situation at home either. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you guys think he ran away again this time?” Mr Hwang suddenly asked. Seungmin whipped his head in the man’s direction. <em> Ran away again? </em> Even Jeongin looked up from his dinner at this question. “I mean just like he did when he left here. Hyunjin always has had a free spirit…”</p><p> </p><p><em> No. That can not be. This time is nothing like when he went away from home, right? </em> Sure, he hadn’t told his parents when he left, but surely he had a good reason. A reason his parents could figure out if they just thought hard enough about it. <em> Heck, his apartment was trashed. We found his house keys bent! We saw signs of struggle and found Hyunjin’s hair there! He didn’t run away, right? </em></p><p> </p><p>“I— I don’t think he ran away.” Jeongin suddenly spoke up. <em> See! Jeongin thinks so too </em> — <em> Wait… But he doesn’t know about the robbery. Or does he...? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Why is that?” Mr Hwang raised his eyebrows and Seungmin saw Jeongin get nervous again. </p><p> </p><p>“I mean— He stayed there for a long time, right? From what I know, Seungmin and Minho were really close to Hyunjin! He wouldn’t just leave them, right? I don’t know. My gut just tells me that something happened…” Jeongin told Hyunjin’s parents.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you make a good point, but I would think Hyunjin and us were close as well.” Mrs Hwang chuckled emptily and Seungmin swallowed. <em> What is this weird atmosphere…? Is it just because Jeongin implied Hyunjin wasn’t close to his parents? </em> “And what about you, Jeongin? Hyunjin was close to you too, right? Did he tell <em> you </em> anything?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” Jeongin immediately replied. “I’m sorry— My implications were rude, I didn’t mean to imply something like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, darling.” Mrs Hwang smiled a little. “We know how hard it is to accept the fact that someone you hold dear just runs away from you like that, without saying goodbye.”</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin’s stomach dropped at those words. He felt like throwing up for a second, but then he remembered that Hyunjin <em> did </em> in fact contact Jeongin and invited him over at some point. <em> Maybe there’s still hope.  </em></p><p> </p><p>He still didn’t think that Hyunjin had run away, there was just too much evidence pointing to that he was taken by someone who was looking for something that Hyunjin had. If Hyunjin had managed to contact Jeongin and invite him over, while Hyunjin’s parents seemingly had stayed unaware of Hyunjin’s whereabouts all this time, then that meant Hyunjin was smarter than he let on. <em> Or Hyunjin’s parents were just not looking hard enough. Until now. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Shit. What happened between Hyunjin and his parents? Did they really not fight? Are Mr and Mrs Hwang telling me the truth or is Jeongin? Or are they both, but their interpretations are different? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Hyunjin’s parents think that Hyunjin ran away, which is a logical thing to think given the information they have been given, the newspaper reported Hyunjin’s disappearance and the break-in separately. Jeongin somehow thinks Hyunjin’s parents are involved, that it has something to do with their disagreement about the company or something. It seems plausible for him to think he wouldn’t leave us, because Minho, Felix and I also came to that conclusion, but it could also be that he’s trying to distract us from his own involvement…? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> UGH! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin’s head was hurting. He really didn’t know who to trust at this point. He needed evidence. Physical evidence, preferably, not human statements that he couldn’t check without asking Hyunjin, because at this point the statements were just biased guesses based on how they knew Hyunjin. </p><p>Seungmin guessed that it made sense, because Seungmin himself also only knew Hyunjin from what he showed him of himself. Seungmin would have never guessed that he, or Jeongin for that matter, came from a wealthy family. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want to pry, but, can I ask about the displeasure Hyunjin showed?” Minho spoke up. At least he had the mind to do it. The couple shared a look before Mr Hwang spoke up.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, I think we are all curious about what happened to our son.” He began. “It had to do with some of the details of our business, but he never had to work for us. However much we would like for him to take over— Or at least try a position in our business, we have enough trustworthy employees who can take over. It’s all his choice. He wouldn’t leave over that.”</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin nodded. <em> That’s exactly what I thought as well. </em> </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly Minho whipped his head around. Seungmin followed his gaze but saw nothing. Jeongin and the Hwangs didn’t seem to understand what this was about either.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you guys hear that?” Minho frowned. <em> Huh? He heard something? Maybe it was just Felix. </em> The four others sitting at the table shook their heads. “I heard a faint <em> boom </em>… as if something fell?” </p><p> </p><p><em> Hyunjin? </em> Seungmin immediately flicked his gaze between Jeongin and the Hwangs to see if they reacted somehow. <em> Maybe it’s just a servant dropping something </em> — Wait. Did Mr Hwang’s eyes just flick <em> up </em> ? <em> I thought he didn’t hear anything… Is there anything upstairs? </em></p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t hear anything…?” Jeongin said. </p><p> </p><p>“Maybe one of our staff has dropped something.” Mrs Hwang waved it off with a small smile. She then eyed their almost empty plates. “Please, feel free to go now, take some more food, or leave your plates here for our staff to clean up. We’ve enjoyed talking to you for a bit. We’re glad Hyunjin was happy there.”</p><p> </p><p>“The pleasure was ours.” Seungmin stood up and bowed a little. He signaled Minho to come with him and he noticed Jeongin stood up as well, telling Hyunjin’s parents to thank the cook for the food. Seungmin contemplated if he wanted Jeongin to come with them or not, he didn’t know for now. They made their way out of the dining hall and Seungmin made sure to switch on communication with Felix.</p><p> </p><p>He actually needed to speak to Minho to decide what to do next and discuss what they had heard, but maybe there wasn’t time for that. Maybe he needed to hurry and look at what that noise was upstairs. <em> Maybe it’s irrational to think that Hyunjin is here, but I have to take the chance </em>—</p><p> </p><p>“Can I take that for you, sir?” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin almost crashed face first into one of the servants. <em> A servant who has a strangely familiar voice </em> — He looked down to see Changbin grin widely at him. <em> Changbin! </em></p><p> </p><p>“Please, do <em> not </em> call me <em> sir </em> ever again!” Seungmin breathed out. He was incredibly relieved to see Changbin and he really wanted to hug him, but he had something to do right now. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, take my plate, I’ve had enough.” Minho shoved his plate into Changbin’s hands, making the shorter boy roll his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s nice to see you too, Minho.” Changbin said, sounding more gentle than annoyed. “Jisung told us about your conversation— I can’t talk to you for too long, I’ll get scolded, but… yeah. I missed you guys.” </p><p> </p><p>“Me too, and we can’t talk for too long either.” Seungmin was itching to get out, there was possibly a time limit on how long Hyunjin could be here. <em> Wait… Maybe I can take Changbin with me…? He knows the house. </em></p><p> </p><p>Or he could take Jeongin… but looking around he saw that Jeongin wasn’t near them anymore. <em> Oh, okay. </em> </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, well— I’ll get going.” Changbin said. “Good luck with your… mission, I guess.” </p><p> </p><p>“Wait!” Seungmin stopped the older boy from leaving. “Stay here for a second.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you thinking about investigating the sound I heard?” Minho asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, and I may need someone who knows the layout of the house, that way I can get where I need to be faster.” Seungmin explained. Changbin frowned at him. “Or… Minho you can go if you have more of an idea where the sound came from?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, it was so soft… I don’t know.” Minho said. “You can go if you want. I’ll stay here and… watch people, I guess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uhm… I really can’t go right now, but I think Chan can help.” Changbin said and he motioned Seungmin to follow him. “Come with me.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> End of chapter 7 </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sooooo who do you guys believe? everyone? no one? I'm very curious to know what y'all think so feel free to leave a comment!</p><p>Next chapter Seungmin will investigate the sound that Minho heard</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Unless it was to make a statement?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Yeah… Uhm. The room above the dining hall is the study.” Chan told him, nervously eyeing Seungmin and the door. “We can’t actually go in here if one of the Hwangs isn’t in here.”</p><p>“So what?” Seungmin wiggled his glove-clad fingers in front of the older man before reaching for the doorknob. Oh, it’s locked… I should have expected that. But that’s why Chan was here. “Do you have a key?”</p><p>“Seungmin…” Chan bit his lower lip and looked over his shoulder cautiously before looking back at the younger. “Do we really have to go inside?”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Seungmin investigates the sound that Minho heard during dinner and maybe he finds some more clues regarding Hyunjin's disappearance</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“The room above the dining hall, you said?” Chan whispered as he and Seungmin tip-toed along up the stairs of the residence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, we need to be quick!” Seungmin hurried after the older. He wished circumstances would be different and he wished that he could properly catch up with Chan, but the circumstances weren’t different, so sneaking around a house had to do as a catching up activity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They hurried along a long hallway, but Chan seemed a little hesitant when they arrived in front of a heavy oak wooden door. Seungmin went to stand next to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” He asked. “Is it this room?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… Uhm. The room above the dining hall is the study.” Chan told him, nervously eyeing Seungmin and the door. “We can’t actually go in here if one of the Hwangs isn’t in here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what?” Seungmin wiggled his glove-clad fingers in front of the older man before reaching for the doorknob.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Oh, it’s locked… I should have expected that.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But that’s why Chan was here. “Do you have a key?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin…” Chan bit his lower lip and looked over his shoulder cautiously before looking back at the younger. “Do we really have to go inside?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to go, I just— I need to find out what happened to Hyunjin. I promised myself. And Jeongin, too, I guess.” Seungmin explained. He had already stalled too much, but he didn’t blame Chan for being afraid. He held out his hand to his friend. “Just give me the key and leave. If I get caught, I’ll tell them I stole the key from some servant.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan nodded and reached into his back pocket to grab a set of keys and toss it to Seungmin. “Key of the study is the one with the reddish colour. Keep all of them, that’ll be less suspicious.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan was about to run off, but he quickly turned around to pull Seungmin in a short but tight hug. “Good luck. See you soon, hopefully.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin felt a little cold after Chan had let go and hurried away, if he was honest, he would rather have Chan stay with him, because Chan knew the mansion way better than he did, but he didn’t want to be the cause of him losing his job. He quickly looked for the right key to open the door to the study and once he had found it, he slowly pushed the heavy door open (he hadn’t heard anything from outside, so he feared the worst, but he was careful just in case).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least, no Hyunjin. No other people, either. Seungmin’s stomach dropped, and not only because of the strong smell of </span>
  <em>
    <span>chloroform</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the room. (Yes, Seungmin knew how chloroform smelled, courtesy of his forensic science background.) He quickly locked the door behind him before turning around and properly examining the room and what could be seen through the windows of the study. Then he saw another thing pointing to that there had </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>been someone in here recently, because he didn’t suppose that Mr and Mrs Hwang always kept the area around their desk this messy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pens, paper, paperweights and the like were all scattered around and in front of the big desk, as if someone had pushed it all off. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or as if someone pushed the whole desk over. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Perhaps this was the sound that Minho had heard during dinner. It made sense, an expensive desk like this looked like it would make a </span>
  <em>
    <span>boom</span>
  </em>
  <span> sound if tipped over, just loud enough to be heard over the sound of chatting in the dining hall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And? Are you inside? Do you see anything?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suddenly sounded, startling Seungmin. He could relate to Minho right now. Felix let out a laugh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Sorry to startle you, I’m just curious, but you probably need to focus. I’ll keep quiet.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” He assured his friend with a chuckle, keeping his voice low just in case. “There’s no one here, but the desk has been tipped over and put upright again. It also smells a lot like chloroform, but I can’t find any cloth. It didn’t smell like chloroform outside of this room, though. Don’t know why yet, I’ll investigate and keep you updated if I can.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Really? Okay. If you want me to look something up for you, just say the word, or send me a pic.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Lix.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin went to stand behind the desk and placed his hands flat on the underside, slowly pushing it up to see how much strength was needed to tip the piece of furniture over. It wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> much, if he put his legs into it. He looked over to see if the distribution of the mess on the floor matched the desk. It did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why would someone tip over the desk, and then place it upright again, but not clean up the mess? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unless it was to make a statement? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin crouched near the front of the desk and started searching through the mess that had previously been on the desk. The documents were mostly business related, as was expected, and the notes written on them were nothing out of the ordinary either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He scanned through them quickly, but he found nothing suspicious. He took a couple of pictures of them and sent them to Felix just in case he could find something suspicious. Then he contemplated if he should clean up, but before he could, he noticed something out of the ordinary under the desk. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin crawled under the desk and carefully picked up the piece of… toilet paper? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yep. This is definitely toilet paper, thank god it’s dry. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was an expensive type of thick and soft toilet paper, folded in half and it was dry. He unfolded it, but it was just dry, ordinary toilet paper, most likely from a bathroom in this house, because otherwise it would be very weird.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Unless this is a message? From Hyunjin, perhaps? Was he in here to send a message but they found him so they used the chloroform to take him away again?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix?” He spoke up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you… uhm… ever keep toilet paper under your desk?” He asked, feeling a bit weird about asking such a question. “Or do you know anyone who does?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What? … No? Did you find toilet paper under the desk?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin hummed in confirmation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh. I wouldn’t think fancy people like Hyunjin’s family would leave toilet paper lying around.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix remarked. He was right, this was definitely weird. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin decided to investigate this a little further, instead of looking around longer in the study. He could always come back if the bathroom lead came up empty. His senses told him he should look, though, and he had to trust his instincts sometimes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked out and locked the door behind him, before looking around for the nearest bathroom. There were a lot of doors along the hallway, and most of them were locked, so that saved him a little bit of time and made him find the bathroom pretty quickly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin opened the door and clicked on the light, which revealed a spacious bathroom with marble everywhere. </span>
  <em>
    <span>As expected of a house like this.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He made his way over to the toilet and compared the toilet paper to what he found in the study. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s a match.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just when he was about to tell Felix what he found, he spotted some more toilet paper lying on the ground next to the toilet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Coincidence?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He crouched to see if it was wet, but it wasn’t, so he picked the stack up to look at it more closely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was writing on the back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hyunjin?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His heart pounded in his ears as he flipped over the small stack of toilet paper to read what was on it. He had to squint to read it, it seemed to have been written with a kind of blunt pencil, which didn’t make the messy handwriting any easier to read. He was staring at the first word for way too long until he figured out what it said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Sorry for lying’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Seungmin whispered the first line of the message out loud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Huh? About what?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suddenly sounded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh— N—no, uhm. I found a message in the bathroom.” Seungmin stammered. He had seen the bottom of the message. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘-HJ’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it said. ...</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hyunjin?! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Really?! What does it say?”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I— I think it’s from Hyunjin.” He shakily pulled out his phone again to take a picture and send it to his friend. “I think it says… </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Sorry for lying. I do really like reading’</span>
  </em>
  <span>... and then something… uhm… </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘when I have time’</span>
  </em>
  <span>? I think. It’s signed with </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘HJ’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh I see.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix said and then he paused for a second. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah, I think you’re right. This has to be from Hyunjin, right? HJ… Hyun-Jin. But what does it mean?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Great question. What did it mean? What did Hyunjin lie about? It probably had to do with his family, although he didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>lie</span>
  </em>
  <span> about it, he just hid the truth. Probably for a reason. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The message also meant that whatever Hyunjin was doing, he didn’t have a lot of time to do it. The message was very messily written, on toilet paper, while he had been in the study, where plenty of paper and writing materials could be found, so he also had to be secretive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Was he being watched while being here? It makes sense… The bathroom is a place where he could get some privacy to leave a message. That would mean that he probably tipped the desk over to send out a signal</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” Seungmin suddenly realized something off about the message. He stopped scribbling notes in his notebook. “Lix. Do you think Hyunjin knew Minho and I were here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Huh? Why? How would he know that?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't you feel like this message was meant for us to find?” Seungmin mused. Who else would this be for? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin had been pretty clever, putting the toilet paper under the desk to signal he left a message in the bathroom. Seungmin </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> that he was smarter than he pretended to be and he was smarter than people gave him credit for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe the people who were watching him were also underestimating him. After all, it seemed like they still needed Hyunjin to find what they were looking for. That theory was still unverified, Seungmin still had no idea what was actually going on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But maybe he could find out with the help of the message Hyunjin left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It… But… How? Did Jeongin tell him?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix wondered out loud, his voice careful, as if he didn’t want to deal with the consequences of voicing his thoughts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Jeongin. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin couldn't help but feel his heart rate increase at the mention of his name. It was a logical thought to have, because Jeongin was the one who had invited them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But if Jeongin had told him, why would he invite him and Minho over to investigate Hyunjin’s disappearance? The obvious answer would be to clear himself from any suspicions, but that answer made Seungmin feel nauseous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I— I don't know. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>be that that's the case, but…” Seungmin trailed off and he heard Felix hum in a way that made him know that Felix knew the end of that sentence. “Let's focus on the second part of the message for now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>'I do really like reading when I have time'</span>
  </em>
  <span>, what does that tell us?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe he's referring to something in the study? He was there last, right?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suggested. Again a good point, how did Hyunjin get out of the residence after tipping over the desk? Seungmin really needed Chan right now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or Changbin or Jisung…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He probably shouldn't stay away from the main hall for too long, but he trusted Minho to warn Felix if he had to get back urgently, and there was still so much to investigate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin decided to look around in the study one last time before going back. He put the message into his notebook and made his way back to the study. He didn’t know how much time he had, but he decided to look in the drawers of the desk before he spotted a couple of loose files on top of a file case in the corner of the room. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Could this be what Hyunjin was referring to? Reading files when he has time…?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The files were about the details of the Yang family within the business. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yang as in Yang Jeongin?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin flipped through the documents and spotted Jeongin’s name a couple of times. He didn’t have a lot of business related knowledge, most of the terms and numbers in the file meaning almost nothing to him, but maybe Felix or Minho could help him out—He probably wouldn’t be able to ask Jeongin himself for help—so he took some pictures of the documents to send to his friend and save for later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I sent you some more—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait! Shhh. Sorry.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix shushed him suddenly. Seungmin paused, confused as to what was happening, before he realized that Minho was probably talking to him. A couple of moments later Felix spoke up again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Sorry about that, Minnie, but Minho just told me that Mrs Hwang is finishing up the buffet, but he doesn’t see Mr Hwang anywhere.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That could be a problem. Seungmin quickly picked up the second file, which was also about the Yang family, and shot some pictures. “Felix, do you know a way I can get out of here quickly?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uhh… Wait let me see if I can</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin put the files back together quickly, but it was already too late, because he heard a key turn in the lock and before he knew it, the door flew open and he was face to face with Mr Hwang. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh shit. Act cool.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix was still talking in his ear, but Seungmin couldn’t really hear what he was saying anymore. He stood upright, subtly taking his hands off of the files and crossing his arms behind his back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr Seungmin?” Mr Hwang sounded eerily calm. “How did you get in here? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you in here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Apologies, sir. But I can explain.” Seungmin said before he even had an explanation ready. He supposed now was a good time to reveal himself as a private investigator. “My full name is Kim Seungmin, and I am a private investigator. I came here to investigate your son’s disappearance.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mr Hwang raised an eyebrow at that. He took a couple of steps closer to Seungmin, eyeing the room and the mess of papers on the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There is evidence that your son was taken. Do— Do you smell that chemical smell in here? It’s chloroform. And that sound that Minho heard that was most likely this desk being tipped over.” Seungmin tried to explain things calmly, hoping to convince the man he was telling the truth. “I was just trying to investigate. I’m sorry. I’ll clean this up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mr Hwang regarded him in silence for a minute and Seungmin felt really </span>
  <em>
    <span>small</span>
  </em>
  <span> for a second, but then the man’s face softened. “No, it’s okay. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt for now, but you should have told us that you were here to investigate. We would have let you into the rooms ourselves. I’ll let someone clean this up later.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phew, that was… kinda easy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, of course. We want our son back, whether he’s been taken or he ran away, we want to know if he’s safe.” Mr Hwang spoke. “I see you’ve found the files on the Yang family. Let’s talk about this a little more after all of the guests have left.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded and he thought they’d leave and go downstairs again, but Mr Hwang paused for a moment. “...Is there a servant I need to reprimand, by the way? Or are you well versed in lock-picking?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The little smile and gaze pointed at Seungmin’s pocket told Seungmin that the man had already seen the set of keys, so lying about having picked the lock wouldn’t do him any good. And besides, how could he lock it again if he picked the lock to open it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I stole a key set from one of your servants while they weren’t paying attention to me, but there’s no need to reprimand them.” Seungmin told the man, hoping he wouldn’t notice the little lie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very well.” Mr Hwang nodded. “Make sure to return the keys to the servant. Let’s join the rest again.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Once downstairs again, Seungmin found Minho pretty quickly and he updated him on his findings. Minho told Seungmin that he had found Yeji a couple of minutes after Seungmin and Chan had left to go upstairs, but he hadn’t found out anything new by talking to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m both not surprised and surprised that he just let you off like that, after finding you snooping around.” Minho mused. “What if you were trying to steal company secrets?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They wouldn’t keep their ‘company secrets’ lying around carelessly, though.” Seungmin noted, the documents in the study seemed like just for bookkeeping, and even though Seungmin knew nothing about business, it was just basic logic for a big and wealthy company to keep valuable information hidden away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, but you never know, right?” Minho shrugged. “I guess it makes sense that they’re confident about keeping their classified documents safe. They have the money to afford good security systems.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho was right about that, they probably didn’t have any information of too much value to their company lying around in the study, but it </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> be of value in terms of Hyunjin’s case. If Hyunjin was referring to the files about the Yang family, then that was certainly valuable. He wondered what Hyunjin’s parents had to say about those files.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guests were now all slowly leaving and the staff was beginning to clean up, so Seungmin and Minho made their way to Hyunjin’s parents, who were speaking to Yeji and what Seungmin assumed were her parents. At that moment Jeongin approached them as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey guys, did you find out what that noise was?” He asked, flicking his eyes between the two. Minho looked at Seungmin, silently telling him to decide what to answer and Seungmin got a little nervous for some reason, but luckily the approaching click of heels told him he wouldn't have to answer right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin, sweetie, can we borrow these two gentlemen for a minute?” Mrs Hwang joined the three boys and Seungmin saw Yeji disappear into the hallways of the residence. “Don't worry, you'll have the opportunity to speak with them after.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin nodded politely and he left the hall as Mr Hwang joined them. “I told my wife about what you found, Mr Kim, and she agrees that we should let you investigate freely. You probably didn't have enough time to properly take a look at those files and it isn't complete—privacy reasons and all—but we had those files laying around there because we wanted to be prepared in case… in case of the worst.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Minho and Seungmin frowned at this, and Mrs Hwang moved her hand to take her husband by the arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The worst, meaning what you said evidence was pointing to— that Hyunjin was taken.” Mr Hwang clarified, wringing his hands together in discomfort a little. “Let me explain. When we found out that our son was missing, the first thing we did was ask our family and friends if they had seen him. We didn’t ask Jeongin </span>
  <em>
    <span>directly</span>
  </em>
  <span> at first, but we asked his parents and they told us to ask Jeongin, so we did, but he was very evasive about it. And— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Look,</span>
  </em>
  <span> we know that this isn’t very respectful, but we looked through Jeongin’s phone and we found out that he was in contact with Hyunjin until a couple of days before his disappearance, so we started looking a little into the details of the Yangs in our company, to look for… motive or what do you call it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That didn’t sound good for the Yang family, unless they hadn’t been able to find any motive, because that was what Seungmin was struggling with. He had no idea what kind of motive Jeongin could have. He was still hoping that the Hwangs hadn’t found anything either, but he would ask anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you find?” The question somehow weighed heavy on the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t look into it that much, because we were assuming that he ran away, but it </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> suit the Yang family if Hyunjin wouldn’t come back.” Mr Hwang began, but that already made Seungmin’s head hurt. “They would be the first in line after Hyunjin to take over the important tasks we initially had in mind for him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait. Sorry for interrupting,” Seungmin held up his hand for a second, but immediately lowered it, afraid he would come off as condescending. “But, you said earlier that Hyunjin never had to be part of the company. And him leaving the first time was already a pretty… clear sign that he wasn’t planning on joining the company. How would it suit the Yangs if he didn’t come back? Why would they go all the way, risking your families’ friendship to make absolutely sure he wouldn’t come back?”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re very observant, Mr Kim.” Mrs Hwang noted. “I get why you’ve become a private investigator.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin got a little shy at the sudden compliment and he heard Minho let out a loud breath while softly elbowing him. “Thank you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are totally right, but the thing is, in a big company like ours it’s all about who has more power than the other, who’s higher in the hierarchy and those kinds of matters.” Mr Hwang continued explaining. “If Hyunjin is gone, but Jeongin knows where he is and can contact him, they have, in a sense, power over us. Hyunjin has worked for the company for a while, so he has inside knowledge which can be beneficial to them. He knows how we work— That’s why he decided it wasn’t for him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But up until this point we assumed Hyunjin ran away, so we didn’t put that much time into looking into them.” Mrs Hwang added. “I guess we’ll leave the investigating to you, now. If you need anything, please tell us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let that all sink in—maybe Minho would have a question to ask in the meantime. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It does look like Jeongin </span>
  </em>
  <span>knows</span>
  <em>
    <span> things. It could be that he knows where Hyunjin is, and that he told Hyunjin that we would be here, but why? Does that also mean that Hyunjin doesn’t know that Jeongin is behind this? Are they working together? But again, why? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then Seungmin realized that Jeongin had been gone after they had the conversation with Hyunjin’s parents in the dining hall during dinner. He could’ve smuggled Hyunjin out of the building in the time it took Seungmin and Minho to convince Changbin to get Chan to accompany Seungmin upstairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my god I hate this theory. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin’s head started to hurt. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is it really all Jeongin and his family?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. We’ll definitely try our best to find out what happened to your son.” Minho spoke up, pulling Seungmin out of his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Mrs Hwang nodded. Hyunjin’s parents then invited them both to stay for the night and investigate around the house freely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you need </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>, please ask us or one of the servants. They will show you your rooms later and provide clothing and such to make your stay comfortable. You can also of course ask Jeongin, if you’re comfortable with that, he’ll be staying here as well. And I don’t know if you’ve met Yeji and my brother, but she can help you out as well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho nodded, almost eagerly, and he thanked Mr and Mrs Hwang before they left. He was probably thinking of this mostly as an opportunity to talk to their friends more. That was a good thing, definitely, but Seungmin couldn’t help but feel… </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything was already hinting at Jeongin being involved in Hyunjin’s disappearance somehow, but now it seemed inevitable to pick Jeongin as the main suspect. It made Seungmin’s chest feel tight and uncomfortable, thinking about that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And just at that moment Jeongin approached them, the clicking of his expensive shoes announcing his arrival. Seungmin turned to the sound and saw the younger walking to the two of them, gaze steady, looking as important as he did when he first saw him tonight. He felt like Jeongin was scrambling his thoughts without even saying anything, making him feel angry, frustrated, powerless and confused without even doing anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey guys, what did you find?” He asked, a small smile resting on his face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>God damn it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I’m going to look for a certain trio of servants in advance, okay?” Minho suddenly said, before turning to Seungmin and patting him on the shoulder. “You’ll manage, right? I’ll update Felix if I can.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh— Y-Yeah, I guess.” Seungmin stuttered. He was kind of lying. He had no idea if he would manage, because Jeongin was looking at him with a curious look, probably already noticing that something was off about his demeanor. Seungmin swallowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So?” Jeongin prompted. “Did you find anything? Can I help in any way?” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 8</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>More clues...! A message from Hyunjin, and more evidence against Jeongin...?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. I’d rather have that you trust me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeongin was patiently waiting for Seungmin to answer his question. Did we find anything? Can he help in any way? Seungmin knew how to answer the questions in theory, but he was kind of breaking his head over how much to tell Jeongin, how much to trust him. </p><p>“What’s up?” Jeongin knitted his brows a little, looking at Seungmin with a concerned look. “Did something happen?” </p><p>Stop that. Don’t pretend you’re worried about me.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The confrontation of Jeongin and Seungmin about the clues from last chapter. Things are getting a bit heated...</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jeongin was patiently waiting for Seungmin to answer his question. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did we find anything? Can he help in any way? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin knew how to answer the questions in theory, but he was kind of breaking his head over how much to tell Jeongin, how much to trust him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s up?” Jeongin knitted his brows a little, looking at Seungmin with a concerned look. “Did something happen?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Stop that. Don’t pretend you’re worried about me.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What were you doing after dinner?” He decided to ask. He was clenching his fists hard and he felt his nails pinch his palms, but it distracted him from whatever Jeongin was making him feel, so he clenched a little harder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“After dinner?” Jeongin repeated. “Do you mean when we left Hyunjin’s parents? After Minho heard that sound?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” He spoke flatly. Somehow every little thing Jeongin was doing was getting on Seungmin’s nerves, the way he used his ring finger to brush away a loose strand that had fallen onto his forehead, the way he pressed his lips together in thought and the way he looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>so damn innocent</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He just wanted to get out of here and avoid confrontation with Jeongin until he was sure of why and how Jeongin was involved in Hyunjin’s disappearance, but that wouldn’t get him anywhere, sadly. He had to get his act together and bite the bullet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>For Hyunjin. For Jeongin.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I went to the bathroom.” Jeongin answered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The bathroom? Is he somehow referring to Hyunjin’s message? No, I'm overthinking this. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? Did you need me?” The boy blinked at Seungmin’s continuing silence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You know what? Fuck it. I'm just going to confront him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The bathroom isn't really a good alibi, is it?” He raised an eyebrow at Jeongin, whose expression was still blank, confused, </span>
  <em>
    <span>clueless</span>
  </em>
  <span>, even. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What— What are you talking about?” Jeongin stammered. “What happened?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have found evidence that you might be in touch with Hyunjin.” Seungmin began, watching the other boy's eyes grow wide. “We also know that your family might benefit from Hyunjin staying gone, and if you are in touch with him, you basically have power over the Hwang family.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin stood dumbfounded, mouth hanging slightly open and eyes wide in disbelief. “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>heck </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you talking about?! Who told you that? Did Hyunjin’s parents say that? I thought we were friends!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They were just being thorough, just like I am.” Seungmin explained, and the way Jeongin seemed taken aback by his slightly harsh tone made Seungmin even more annoyed. “They assumed Hyunjin that ran away until I pointed out that he might have been taken, then they told me about your family's possible motive.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, so you're still thinking that I have something to do with Hyunjin's disappearance? That I might even know where he is?” Jeongin looked at him as if Seungmin was speaking a foreign language to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. It’s an option.” Seungmin stated. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s the most probable option right now, even.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But— I’m trying to help you guys!” The boy exclaimed. “Why would I have anything to do with this? How am I supposed to be in contact with Hyunjin? Why wouldn’t I tell you about that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have found evidence that Hyunjin was here about an hour or two ago, when we heard the sound, and that he knew that we were here. How could he know that? He wouldn’t come down to check and you were the only one who knew that we were coming here.” He told him, raising his voice a bit to match Jeongin’s volume. What he said were just the facts, but Jeongin seemed to get just as frustrated as Seungmin was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but—” He started, but Seungmin wasn’t finished yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And that is only the evidence we found to connect you with Hyunjin’s disappearance </span>
  <em>
    <span>tonight</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It also happens to be very convenient that Hyunjin’s number was blocked on your phone when he sent you his last text and that you only noticed when you tried to call him when he was missing.” Seungmin pointed a finger at Jeongin, who took a step back, frowning at him. He rambled on, naming anything and everything that made Jeongin their main suspect. “Most of our evidence points to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You conveniently went to the bathroom exactly when Hyunjin was taken away from the house again. On top of that, Hyunjin went to a certain place right before he went missing, which was probably asked of him by someone he trusted via a hidden number </span>
  <em>
    <span>after</span>
  </em>
  <span> which he sent you a text asking </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘OK?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> to you, which all makes you </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly</span>
  </em>
  <span> suspicious </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> you never answered his question asking you why Yeji was in our town </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> your little ‘distraction maneuver’ could be interpreted as a way to distract </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my </span>
  <em>
    <span>gosh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Seungmin! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shut up</span>
  </em>
  <span>!!” Jeongin yelled, his face red in anger. It would be scary, the contrast with his usual smile, if Seungmin wasn’t too frustrated to care right now. Jeongin now took a step forward to Seungmin, using the height he gained from his shoes to look Seungmin straight in the eyes. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>First of all</span>
  </em>
  <span>, those are a lot of </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘could’</span>
  </em>
  <span>s and </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘probably’</span>
  </em>
  <span>s. How much do you know for sure?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Second</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>most important</span>
  </em>
  <span> of all,” Jeongin continued, the fire in his eyes becoming even fiercer, “I can’t believe you think that </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>am your main suspect! Do you really think I give a fuck about having power in a company? About making more money? I don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>work</span>
  </em>
  <span> for that company! And my family has </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>than enough money! Why would I </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidnap</span>
  </em>
  <span> my best friend and lie to my other friends?! Don’t you have any idea how </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span> I care about Hyunjin?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin was raising his voice more and more as he spoke, almost yelling now, even though they were barely half a meter apart. “I hired you so that I can help you find him!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do I know you’re not lying to me, though? Because the evidence—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? The evidence </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Jeongin cut in. He was furious and Seungmin was struggling to keep himself together too. He just wanted to yell at him to </span>
  <em>
    <span>listen</span>
  </em>
  <span> to him, to </span>
  <em>
    <span>understand</span>
  </em>
  <span> that he didn’t want to suspect him either, it was just that he couldn’t ignore the facts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you really think I’m smart enough to send Hyunjin texts from hidden numbers or something? That I’m confident enough to outsmart you to the extent that I invite you and hire you to find him? That I’m smarter than Hyunjin?” Jeongin snapped at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Look</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin, I have to keep every option open! I can’t just clear you from suspicions just because you’re close to Hyunjin and me!” Why wouldn’t he just </span>
  <em>
    <span>understand</span>
  </em>
  <span> for god’s sake?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m flattered that you think that I’m some kind of mastermind or something, but I’d rather have that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>trust</span>
  </em>
  <span> me.” Jeongin took a step back, his angry expression fading into something more </span>
  <em>
    <span>sad</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, Jeongin, do you think I have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>choice</span>
  </em>
  <span>?! I’m just doing my job!” Seungmin stopped the younger man from walking away, grabbing his wrist, but Jeongin immediately shook him off, pointing an accusing finger at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasting</span>
  </em>
  <span> your time by choosing me as your suspect!” He snapped again, his expression turning back to angry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am being </span>
  <em>
    <span>thorough</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are not letting me </span>
  <em>
    <span>help </span>
  </em>
  <span>you! That’s wasting time!” Jeongin looked so incredibly frustrated and angry as he pressed a weak finger to Seungmin’s chest and Seungmin wanted to rip his hair out. He slapped Jeongin’s arm away and took a hold of his wrists to make him listen, but Jeongin resisted his grip. “Let </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span> of me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>listen </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me—!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Woah</span>
  </em>
  <span>, what is going on here?” A voice cut through their arguing. It was Chan’s voice, so Seungmin immediately whipped his head to see his four friends hastily walking over to them. Minho’s expression was concerned and… kind of angry. Seungmin let go of Jeongin immediately.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, why are you guys fighting?” Minho came to stand in between the two, creating some space between them. He then turned to look at Seungmin, raising his eyebrows. “Why are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> so agitated? We heard you two yell from the hallway! You never </span>
  <em>
    <span>yell</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Seungmin.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever. I wasn’t even yelling, though.” Seungmin didn’t want to explain himself anymore. It had been enough. He was tired, frustrated and angry. “Just show us our rooms, we’ll see what we do after.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe this.” Jeongin muttered angrily. “Well, if you change your mind about me, I’ll be here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The younger all but </span>
  <em>
    <span>spat</span>
  </em>
  <span> at Seungmin before he left him feeling absolutely sick to his stomach. All four of his friends who had just entered the room were looking at him in concern, but Seungmin just looked at the empty doorway through which Jeongin had just left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin, what happened there?” Jisung spoke up, his voice a lot softer than how Seungmin had been speaking with Jeongin earlier. If you could even call that plain speaking. He felt a hand touch his shoulder. It was Chan, his eyes glistening with worry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin?” His oldest friend forced him to look their way. Changbin motioned him to relax, take a deep breath. Seungmin didn't even realize he was still clenching his fists and jaw, even his shoulders were up against his ears. “Neither you nor Jeongin are the type of person to argue easily with anyone, so… are you okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin paused, thinking for a bit. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, I don't really feel okay</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought, but he wasn't going to say it out loud, it was probably evident enough on his face. “Let's talk in one of our rooms.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all stood there for a second, looking at each other, all probably thinking about how they wished they could catch up like normal and how they wished for the circumstances of their meeting after so long to be different, but eventually they began making their way out of the hall towards the guest rooms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys each have a separate room, but if you want you can stay together.” Chan said as they came to a stop in front of a door. “Here is one of your rooms… Uhh, Minho you can take this one, I guess.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The rooms are identical in terms of resources and quality, so don't worry.” Changbin added and Minho shrugged, taking a quick peek inside and nodding to the servants he was fine with it or something. Seungmin wasn't really paying attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our room is just across from yours.” Jisung pointed to a door on the other side of the hallway. “We share it with another servant, her name is Chaeryoung. Yeji and Jeongin's rooms are upstairs. Seungmin your room is this one, next to Minho’s.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin heard his name, so he started paying attention again as they walked a couple of steps over to the next room. Changbin opened the door to show the inside of the room. “We could talk here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” Seungmin felt his stomach drop again, seeing the room. He took a step closer to see better but—</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh gosh, here come the embarrassing memories. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>is my room?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He quickly stepped back and grimaced while closing his eyes and willing away the awful feeling washing over him. His heart was bouncing loudly in his ears and he almost didn't hear the questioning sounds coming from his friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho can we switch?” He faced his friend and he felt that all eyes were on him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Why? We haven’t even seen the rooms properly yet?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why does Minho have to question it…? I should have expected that, but… ugh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just— The other room just feels better…?” It came out more as a question than a statement, so he saw that his friends didn’t believe him even for a single second. He let out a sigh and held up his hand as he saw Chan open his mouth to speak. “Just— Let’s talk. But not in this one. In the other room.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The other room was indeed similar to the one Jeongin had taken him to, but still different enough for Seungmin’s stomach to settle down a little. He could calm himself a little. When he sat down on the side of the bed, he suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him, his legs felt weak and his head hurt from thinking all day long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He closed his eyes for a second, focusing on maintaining a steady breathing pattern. He then felt the bed dip next to him and a hand on his back. It was comforting and Seungmin really just wanted to stay like that for another minute or fifteen, but his friends were probably worried, so he forced himself to open his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw Chan, Changbin and Jisung sitting in front of him—</span>
  <em>
    <span>where did they get those chairs from?</span>
  </em>
  <span>—Jisung half perched on the armrest of the chair Chan was sitting on and half standing. So Minho was the one next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Minnie.” Minho spoke softly. “We’re all worried about you, okay? Chan, Changbin, Jisung… Felix too, and they’re all a little hesitant, because of the situation… and we haven’t seen each other in so long, but we’re here for you. Do you want to talk about it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was weird to hear Minho speak so sincerely to him, he usually showed his affection in terms of actions, rather than comforting words, not really fond of showing his emotions that way, but it was nice to hear. He wished his other three friends wouldn’t hold back, though. Just because they hadn’t seen each other in a couple of months, didn’t mean they should act like it. They had known each other since they were little, it was fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Seungmin nodded, and then he spread his arms. “But first, a hug.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung didn’t hesitate to immediately jump up and into Seungmin’s arms, letting out a celebratory sound. Chan and Changbin followed the younger immediately, trying to wring their arms somewhere around Seungmin. Jisung even sneaked a big fat smooch on his cheek in there and Seungmin didn’t have the strength to resist, instead feeling his eyes sting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve missed you guys so much…” He whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Us too, you little puppy.” He heard Changbin say. And just as Seungmin was planning on pushing the three off of him, Jisung invited Minho into the hug pile and Seungmin guessed they had to go on for a little longer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they stopped, Seungmin immediately felt a little more relieved, even though his eyes were watery. He kindly declined any offers to keep cuddling him while he spoke, he’d rather not have his friends touch him while he told them about the </span>
  <em>
    <span>incident</span>
  </em>
  <span> with Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so, uhm… When I went to talk to Jeongin at the beginning of the night, we went to the room next to this one.” Seungmin began, flicking his eyes between his lap and his friends. He felt his head becoming hot while recalling the events after. “W-We were just talking, but suddenly someone knocked on the door, and—before, Jeongin joked about pretending to be… </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘busy’</span>
  </em>
  <span> if someone would walk in on us, so when we heard knocking, I panicked, because I could only think about </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> and so I suggested it, not really thinking clearly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin took a deep breath before continuing. “So… Uhh— Then the door opened and Jeongin jumped me… And— I couldn’t resist, of course, because that would ruin the whole purpose and I was kinda the one who suggested it, so— The </span>
  <em>
    <span>point</span>
  </em>
  <span> is, that especially after our fight just now, that room kind of brings back embarrassing memories. We talked it out, but our fight kinda ruined that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, so you guys… Jeongin </span>
  <em>
    <span>kissed</span>
  </em>
  <span> you?” Seungmin couldn’t read Minho’s face, but neither could he read the others’ faces. Did he see slight </span>
  <em>
    <span>amusement</span>
  </em>
  <span>? </span>
  <em>
    <span>This isn’t funny…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No… He just, like, pulled my jacket off and trapped me on the bed and then I held his head close to me.” Seungmin murmured and his friends started snickering. He shot them angry looks. “Guys! This isn’t funny!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The laughter died down a little—Seungmin didn’t blame them for it, he supposed it could be funny on it’s own, but given the situation, it wasn’t funny. Remembering Jeongin’s hands on his chest made him feel downright awful, knowing that they were on bad terms now. It wasn’t like he regretted not pushing Jeongin off of him, because he was sure it would be a funny moment to look back upon, but that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> if he would still be friends with Jeongin. And he really hoped that that would be the case. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Min.” Minho patted his shoulder. “I understand that it’s embarrassing, but, if it makes you feel better, Jisung pulled something similar with me when we were talking in the hallway. He pulled me into a fake kiss. Like, nothing but a thumb in between our lips and all.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho had a little smirk on his face, but Seungmin noticed his ears were red as a tomato. He then looked at Jisung, who was also slightly blushing and avoiding eye contact with him, Chan and Changbin, the latter two snickering again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but I would argue that your situation is a little different from mine.” Seungmin said. “You guys are best friends. And I don’t have feelings for Jeongin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung now looked Seungmin right in the eyes with a slightly shocked expression, before looking at the boy next to him. His cheeks grew even more pink, but they didn’t say anything. Seungmin didn’t realize what he was implying and he also didn’t have the mind right now to think about the fact that Minho and Jisung didn’t know about their feelings for each other, because he had known for a pretty long while.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure Jeongin hates me now…” Seungmin sighed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not true!” Changbin and Jisung said simultaneously. Changbin shuffled a little closer to him and looked at him with a serious expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re serious, Seungminnie.” He said. “Jeongin doesn’t hate you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t even know what happened, though. If— If Jeongin really doesn’t have anything to do with Hyunjin’s disappearance, and I accused him and wasted my time suspecting him… I don’t think he’ll forgive me for that. But I just can’t take that chance.” Seungmin sighed deeply again. “I don’t have any other leads.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I believe in you and in Jeongin, too.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suddenly sounded and both Minho and Seungmin almost jumped out of their skin at the sudden sound, startling their three other friends in the process. Felix laughed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Sorry guys!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Lixie, you can’t help that.” Minho breathed, snickering a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felix?!” Changbin shot up. “Felix, are you there?! Can you hear me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes! But you can’t hear me…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix sulked through the ear-in. Minho then suggested just calling him and Felix told them he would turn off the ear-ins, because the battery would run out otherwise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix told everyone how he wished he could be there and hug everyone tightly and Seungmin swore he saw Chan tear up a little— Not that Jisung and Changbin weren’t sniffling either. Felix then told them to call or text him anytime, if they needed him. Everyone yelled goodbye to their dear friend and Seungmin wished he could just go to sleep right after, but maybe he should use this opportunity to investigate a little more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He updated his friends on the specifics of his argument with Jeongin, Minho helping him answer questions about their time with Hyunjin and Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, Seungmin, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> kind of jumping on the whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Jeongin is the bad guy’</span>
  </em>
  <span> train all of a sudden.” Minho remarked after a while. “What happened to suspecting Hyunjin’s parents? Did you forget that Hyunjin has left them without a word, but that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> tell Jeongin where he went?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho once again made a good point, that detail had kind of slipped to the back of his mind after their talk with Mr and Mrs Hwang. “I didn’t forget it, but… we just don’t have any real motive for them, nothing that directly connects them to his disappearance.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but you do trust Hyunjin, right?” It was a trivial question, Seungmin trusted Hyunjin, maybe a little more than he should, given that he had kept a lot from them, but he trusted Hyunjin to have a good reason for that. That meant he should trust Jeongin as well, but given the situation, he just couldn’t. Not completely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, maybe that doesn’t necessarily mean you should trust Jeongin, I’m not saying that, but I don’t think we should focus on him right now.” Minho continued after Seungmin stayed silent. Chan nodded in agreement. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chan trusts him too… maybe I really am making a mistake by suspecting him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I think we should focus on Hyunjin’s message.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Message?” Jisung repeated. “He left you guys a message?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded and showed the trio the message on toilet paper. Their eyes widened a little even before they could read the message, they probably recognized the specific toilet paper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At first I thought he was trying to tell us to read the stuff in the study, because he was there, but I don’t know why it says </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘when I have time’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, then.” He couldn’t help but think that everything Hyunjin had written down had a meaning, something that Seungmin could figure out, only if he just thought hard enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well— He </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> like reading in his spare time.” Jisung noted. That was definitely true, everyone who had put a little effort into getting to know Hyunjin knew that. He liked watching TV shows when he had the time, too, or dancing, but he didn’t write those down, he wrote down </span>
  <em>
    <span>reading</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>spare time</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you say?” Seungmin suddenly felt like that interpretation of </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘when I have time’</span>
  </em>
  <span> could be important. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Yes? Why?” Jisung frowned a little, but Seungmin didn’t respond immediately. His friend snickered. “Ah, I see the gears are turning, I’ll keep quiet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gears were turning, yes, but no light was shining on his chaotic thoughts. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> why it was important, the words just wouldn’t materialize in his mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The difference between ‘when I have time’ and ‘spare time’ is that… the thing… spare time is, like, when you uhh... </span>
  </em>
  <span>Suddenly Chan let out a little laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s time to get some sleep, it’s getting late.” He gently patted Seungmin’s arm. “We’ll get you guys some pyjamas and towels and the like.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, wait.” Seungmin shook his head and tried to stop his friends from leaving so soon. He wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> tired yet. “I don’t need sleep— I just need to gather my thoughts a little. I need to investigate a little more now that I have the chance.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can investigate in the morning, too.” His oldest friend insisted. “You’ll be rested and you’ll be in a better mood. Your head will be clearer.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t waste any time, though.” Seungmin stood up, but none of his friends seemed convinced to let him go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minnie.” Changbin frowned a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think you’ll find anything, given the state you’re in?” Jisung added. “No offense, but… I think you’ll be making better use of your time if you’re a little rested.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let out a long groan, but he relented, letting himself sag onto the bed again. Maybe they were right, his head was still hurting, after all. Maybe sleep would do him good. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hyunjin would have wanted that, too.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine. Whatever.” He mumbled and his friends cheered softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He remembered his days when he was studying for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice after having gotten a degree in forensic science in order to become a legit private investigator. He was already well on his way when he became good friends with Hyunjin, and he wanted to finish quickly, so he could get on with it and start working already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin always reminded him to go to sleep whenever Felix was too focused on gaming and Minho was already fast asleep. Sometimes the boy would call him right before he went to bed himself and make sure Seungmin knew what time it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes they would have long conversations and they would keep each other up for even longer without realizing, although Seungmin would always sleep really well on those nights.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin’s heart ached a little remembering that. He missed Hyunjin </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but Hyunjin would want him to go to sleep right now. At least, that’s what he hoped would be the right choice, and Hyunjin usually knew what was right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Because he listens to his feelings more than anyone I know.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe Seungmin should do that more as well, listen to his feelings. It was hard, but it had helped him before. He didn’t want to think about what that meant for the investigation right now. Right now he just wanted to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for listening to me today, guys.” He spoke up as his four friends were about to leave him alone. “Good night. Sleep well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good night.” They returned, almost in unison. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin didn’t even bother to change into the pyjamas provided, just shrugging off his clothes and diving into the bed. He felt his eyes get heavy almost immediately as he laid down under the covers, exhaustion from the day taking over and lulling him to sleep before his thoughts could take over.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 9</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oof</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Another kiss it is</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“What a day, huh? Or should I just say what an evening?” Jisung stretched his arms above himself after he, Chan and Changbin had returned to their room after making sure that Minho and Seungmin were comfortable. He was looking forward to finally going to sleep as well, but he should first clean his face, wipe his makeup off and stuff. </p><p>“I know, right?” Changbin let out a scoff as he plopped down onto his bed. Chaeryoung wasn't in the room, she was probably somewhere in a bathroom, or she could be with Yeji and/or Jeongin or something. </p><p>“For you especially.” Changbin continued, laying down on his back now, waving his hand around vaguely. “I mean, you even got some action going, with your crush nonetheless!” </p><p>“Wh— What?”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A chapter from Jisung's perspective! This chapter is a lot happier and softer than the previous one</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“What a day, huh? Or should I just say what an evening?” Jisung stretched his arms above himself after he, Chan and Changbin had returned to their room after making sure that Minho and Seungmin were comfortable. He was looking forward to finally going to sleep as well, but he should first clean his face, wipe his makeup off and stuff. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, right?” Changbin let out a scoff as he plopped down onto his bed. Chaeryoung wasn't in the room, she was probably somewhere in a bathroom, or she could be with Yeji and/or Jeongin or something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> especially.” Changbin continued, laying down on his back now, waving his hand around vaguely. “I mean, you even got some action going, with your </span>
  <em>
    <span>crush </span>
  </em>
  <span>nonetheless!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh— What?” Jisung squeaked, feeling a blush creep up his neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He's right.” Chan shrugged. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chan, you too?! </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it with him now that you have the chance?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Jisung whined softly, jutting out his lower lip a little in the hope that they would stop teasing him. Changbin sat up and raised his eyebrows at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm not kidding.” Chan told him. “You have had feelings for him for so long! You didn’t want to confess to him right before we left, which I understand, but I feel like now is the time. You've waited long enough, don't you think?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can wait a little longer, I think.” Jisung huffed, he at least expected Chan to be able to read the situation. “It's really not the right time. He is helping Seungmin with the investigation and we should be focusing on that too. And— It's been so long since we've seen each other and we lied to him. That hurt. If I tell him now, he'll hate me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin won't be happy about it either.And by the way, what if he likes someone else? We haven’t seen each other in so long.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're starting to sound like our little private investigator, thinking your friends can just hate you like that.” Changbin remarked. “Minho could never hate you. He even let you fake kiss him. Did he get mad about that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung didn't answer immediately and Changbin grinned with satisfaction. Jisung scoffed. “No, but… </span>
  <em>
    <span>not now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This conversation is over, okay?” He picked up a pillow and threw it at his friend before getting up and walking to their small ensuite, to go wash his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He perked up when he heard a knock on the door, turning toward the sound. Chan opened the door and revealed Minho standing in the doorway. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Speak of the devil. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho?” Chan raised his eyebrows at him. “Do you need anything?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung saw Minho press his lips together, his eyes flicking around the room. His expression was the same as when he sometimes came over to Jisung and Changbin's old apartment with Chan randomly, only now it was a little more hesitant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>guys need anything?” He asked in return and Chan blinked at him, confused. Minho sighed. “Sorry. I just… I thought you guys might miss me or something.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>Translation: Minho misses </span></em><span>us,</span><em><span> but he doesn't want to say it out loud, </span></em><span>Jisung thought.</span> <span>Chan laughed and pulled him into a tight hug. Minho groaned in complaint, but Chan ignored it, motioning Changbin and Jisung to join the hug. “Of course we missed you.” </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you still mad at us for lying?” Changbin sounded a bit muffled by Chan's clothes. Or Minho's clothes, Jisung couldn’t see properly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, you guys had a pretty okay reason, I guess.” Minho pulled out of the hug and gave them a small smile, but then it faded into a stern expression. “As long as you guys </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> ghost us like that ever again. Don’t even think about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Are our letters completely worthless to you or something?!” Jisung slapped the older boy's shoulder lightly and Minho giggled softly. “I put a lot of love into writing those!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho didn't say anything to reassure him, but he guessed that it wasn't necessary. Not when Jisung knew that he put an equivalent amount of effort into writing back to them. Jisung did wonder if Minho kept their letters somewhere safe, like Jisung did, or if he let someone else do it. He wondered if Hyunjin had read their letters too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, did you come here just to see us and hang out or did you want to do something in particular?” Changbin sat on the bed again, wiggling his legs a little. He was talking to Minho, obviously, but he was eyeing Jisung as well. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unbelievable. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We were just about to wash up and stuff, but you can always hang around.” Jisung said as he grabbed a towel and some wipes from the small ensuite. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like your new looks, by the way.” Minho commented with a smirk, not answering Changbin’s question. “I especially love the dark lipstick.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung paused. He was the only one wearing dark lipstick. Changbin was wearing only a faint slightly darker lip tint… “Thank you, but I’m gonna remove it now.” Jisung said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shame.” Minho shrugged and Jisung felt the tips of his ears heat up. He had almost forgotten what it was like to talk to Minho in person, how to deal with his out-of-nowhere compliments and remarks like this. He heard Chan and Changbin snicker. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung moved to the bathroom to remove his makeup and wash his face for real now. He heard Chan speak, but he couldn’t really make out what he was saying. He was speaking pretty softly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Suspicious…</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jisung hoped that they weren’t forcing Minho to talk to him or something. Probably not, but still.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He splashed his face with cold water and wiped off his makeup. It helped his ears to cool down too. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re fine. Just be glad Minho’s back. Don’t get your hopes up just because he complimented your makeup. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He took a deep breath before returning to the room and at the same time Chaeryoung opened the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, guys— Oh!” She stopped, seeing Minho. “Sorry, sir. Did you need anything?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho blinked at her for a second, expression blank, before he seemed to realize who she was. He then smiled a little at her. “It’s fine, I was just here because I wanted to ask for a quick tour of the house before going to sleep.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was a lie, right? Or not? It probably was, but that wasn’t necessary, Chaeryoung was a nice girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, Jisung, why don’t you take him on a quick tour?” Chan clapped his hands together with a sly smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, so we’re getting </span>
  </em>
  <span>this</span>
  <em>
    <span> again?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jisung gave Chan an incredulous expression. “Come on, you’ve washed up already.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit, that’s actually a valid reason for me to go.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Changbin was looking at him with innocent eyes, too. Minho didn’t seem to protest, so he guessed he had no choice. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gosh darn it.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Follow me, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung guided Minho out of the room, linking their arms in the process, just because. As soon as they were in the hallway, Minho snorted. Jisung felt laughter bubble up in his chest too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please never call me </span>
  <em>
    <span>sir</span>
  </em>
  <span> ever again.” Minho laughed, shaking their arms back and forth a little. “I know I always joke about being old, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not into that?” Jisung giggled as Minho gasped and shot him an angry look. Oh how Jisung had missed joking around with Minho like this, seeing his fake angry expression and hearing his cute laugh were just irreplaceable experiences. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He loved Chan and Changbin a whole whole lot, but something about Minho filled Jisung with a fuzzy sensation, making his skin tingle at his touch and making his heart stutter while seeing him smile. Something about Minho made his stomach flip whenever they would look at each other and made his cheeks warm whenever Minho said his name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, Sungie.” The older boy sighed exasperatedly, startling Jisung from his thoughts. He wasn’t sure if Minho said this as a response to his joke or as a reaction to the face he made while thinking about the stupid soft feelings he got around Minho. He hoped it was the first option. Whatever it was, Jisung just gave him a toothy smile as an answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho then wrapped his fingers around Jisung’s wrist and started taking him somewhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I thought I was supposed to give you a quick tour.” He said, but Minho scoffed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You thought I really wanted a tour? I just needed an excuse.” He said. “Unless you know a cool place that you wanna show me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung shrugged. He didn’t really have one, not that he could think of right now. He was also kind of tired, so he didn’t feel like thinking too hard. Minho was already taking him to his guest room. That was fine, he guessed. Minho just wanted to spend some more time together. Jisung felt the same. It wouldn’t matter where they would go, as long as they were together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat down on the bed and Jisung couldn’t hold back anymore, so he wrapped his arms around Minho and squeezed him tight. He had missed doing that. Minho let out a choked sound, but he hugged Jisung back just as tightly. A silence filled the room as they held each other, they had never felt the need to always speak whenever they were together, sometimes just being near each other was company enough. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So… Did you ever show Hyunjin our letters?” Jisung decided to fill the silence after a while. He didn’t need to, they had already caught up on the most important things and they were sitting quite comfortably like this, but he was curious. “Hyunjin was your roommate, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. He read them, because of course he did. He always said he wanted to wait for you guys to come over before he introduced himself to you, though.” Minho said. “But you guys know him, right? Then you know he’s even more of a sap than you are, so he got just as excited as the rest of us whenever a letter came. I bet you two got along just fine.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Jisung trailed off and Minho turned in his arms a little to face him, giving him a curious look. “It wasn’t that easy at first, but that wasn’t because we didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>click</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was just… I guess that he’s as bad with strangers as I am. And I was getting used to the job and stuff.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho hummed and nodded. “Well, what matters is that you like each other now that you’ve warmed up to each other, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was a good point. Jisung was worried that Hyunjin might not really care about them anymore, since he went away. It was a fear Jisung struggled a lot with, since he wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> confident in making friends and keeping friends, especially when he didn’t know how to contact them, but Minho made it sound like Hyunjin hadn’t forgotten about them, which was a big relief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not everyone will see that you’re amazing from the very start.” Minho continued, shifting a little in Jisung’s arms, and Jisung felt his heart skip a beat. He looked up at his friend again, but Minho was just staring into empty space.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right. Thank you.” Jisung didn’t know what came over him when he leaned forward to place a kiss on his friend’s cheek, because even though it wasn’t rare or strange for Jisung to give his friends platonic kisses, he didn’t know if Minho would appreciate it right now. He didn’t know where their boundaries were.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The specifics of their relationship had been vague for a long time, they could go from playful banter to sincere compliments within seconds, always able to read each other’s moods better than anyone else, but sometimes either of their two ways of conversation would cause certain things to happen that made Jisung question his entire existence—Okay, maybe that was a little exaggerated, but it at least made him question where their boundaries laid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Moments like these. Right after Jisung had kissed Minho’s cheek, the latter turned his face towards him, but Jisung hadn’t pulled back completely, so their noses were only a centimeter apart. Minho’s lips parted a little, as if he was about to say something, but he didn’t. It made Jisung wonder whether he should stop or whether it meant that he could take a step further. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.” Jisung whispered and backed off, not willing to take any chances right now, he wasn’t feeling especially bold today, but Minho just raised an eyebrow at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What for?” He asked, his gaze a little worried. Jisung guessed it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> uncharacteristic of him to apologize for giving kisses. He hadn’t apologized to Seungmin when he had given him a kiss earlier, but somehow this felt different. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was because he had apologized for fake kissing Minho as well. Or maybe it was just because the way Seungmin had compared his and Jeongin’s situation to that of Minho and himself and had reminded him of his very much still existing feelings for Minho. Maybe it was just because Jisung was scared that Minho would catch onto the feelings that were behind the gesture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead of voicing his thoughts he just shrugged, but his shrug morphed into a squeak when he felt Minho’s fingers dig into his sides, pinching him. He slapped a hand to muffle the sound and looked at Minho with wide eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was that for?!” He slapped Minho’s hands away, but Minho’s smirk told him that he wasn’t done. He surged his hands forward and began tickling Jisung before the latter could stop him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For the third time, I’m not mad at you guys! Stop being careful with me!” Minho scolded him, flipping them so that he was leaning over Jisung’s upper body, tickling his sides and stomach and making him laugh so hard he felt tears form in the corners of his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay—! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>—! </span>
  <em>
    <span>MINHO!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Please have mercy—!” He cried between giggles, trying to get a hold of Minho’s hands or kick him away. Minho was giggling just as much, so he wasn’t too frustrated that he couldn’t seem to win over Minho that fast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only when I’m sure you won’t be careful with me anymore!” He cackled evilly as he continued torturing Jisung with tickles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How am I supposed to do that?!” The younger whined between choked laughs. Minho didn’t answer, but he kept relentlessly poking his fingers around Jisung’s upper body. He guessed that he had to figure it out himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first thing popping up in his stupid mind was giving him a kiss again, that was the obvious answer that Minho might be referring to, but he couldn’t help but feel like he would explode if he’d do that again. He also felt like his aim would be off if Minho would keep on tickling him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You know what? Fuck it. Minho told me to </span>
  </em>
  <span>stop</span>
  <em>
    <span> being careful, so if he hates it, I can blame it on him,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jisung thought as he surged forward to place another kiss on Minho’s cheek. Minho was still tickling him, so the kiss landed almost on his ear rather than on his cheek, but whatever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sorry—!” He exclaimed for good measure, but his sentence ended in a squeak as Minho poked his side again. The older man didn’t stop yet, his gaze still focused on Jisung’s chest as he kept tickling him. Jisung was almost distracted by his pretty face that began to glisten a little due to sweat beginning to form along his brows and on his forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Another kiss it is.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He craned his neck up and tried aiming for his cheek again, this time his aim was better, but his lips brushed Minho’s skin so lightly you could barely call it a kiss, so he tried a third time after he made clear that he still wasn’t sorry about trying to give him kisses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time however, Minho poked him right as he was about to smooch perfectly in the middle of his cheek, causing him to jerk a little and causing his lips to land right on the corner of Minho’s mouth. Minho’s eyes widened and he stopped tickling. Jisung took the opportunity to flip their positions, pushing Minho over and straddling him so that he was leaning over the older.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wiped the tears of laughter from his face before he placed his hands on either side of Minho’s face and leaned down to place a few light kisses along Minho’s face to distract them both from his slip-up earlier. He then backed away a little and looked his friend in the eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho was looking up at him with an expression that made Jisung’s heart flutter and his stomach flex involuntarily. It was an overwhelmingly soft and gentle expression that blurred any imaginary boundaries Jisung had thought were between them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There.” He said and he internally cursed himself for sounding shaky even though he only said a single word. He could blame it on just having been tickled, though. “Are you convinced now?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Minho agreed, but he sounded distracted. His eyes were steady on Jisung, though, and he honestly looked breath-taking, lying there, his hair fanning out on the covers, a couple of strands sticking to his forehead, his lips slightly parted and his expression relaxed, but also attentive, as if he was looking at a pretty painting that he had seen thousands of times already, but still found as intriguing as ever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The silence between them was heavy as they looked at each other for </span>
  <em>
    <span>God knows how long</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Jisung felt his heart pound harshly against his chest and he was itching to lean forward again and just kiss Minho for real, but he was frozen, caught by Minho’s gaze that was so intensely focused on him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho’s eyes flicked away from him for a second when he reached for Jisung’s hand with his own. Jisung felt Minho’s fingers on his left hand before he felt him intertwine their fingers and pull him a little closer. Jisung braced himself on his right elbow next to Minho’s head as Minho brought Jisung’s left hand to lie next to his head on the other side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were now </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> close that their noses touched very lightly and something in Jisung snapped, so he closed the remaining distance between them and captured Minho’s lips in a soft and short kiss, just to test the waters, even though Minho’s message had been pretty clear. The older boy’s eyes had been so gentle and </span>
  <em>
    <span>loving</span>
  </em>
  <span> on him while he had intertwined their fingers, he had to be feeling </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> similar to what Jisung felt for him. Nevertheless, he pulled away to check Minho’s expression and he felt Minho cradle his face with his free hand simultaneously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung searched his friend’s face for any signs of him not wanting this, but he was met with only an incredibly beautiful smile, one that made Minho’s eyes scrunch up cutely and filled Jisung with so much warmth and happiness. He wanted to kiss him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho’s hand moved back along Jisung’s jaw to the back of his neck and he pulled him into another kiss. Jisung now threw away all of his unnecessary thoughts, namely the thoughts that didn’t involve Minho, and kissed Minho back, their lips moving against each other and conveying their unsaid feelings just like their gazes had done earlier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt right. Despite Jisung’s insecurities from earlier on, it felt so right to kiss Minho, knowing that Minho wanted it too, maybe even just as much as Jisung wanted it. But Jisung had to pull back eventually, when he ran out of oxygen. They both gasped a little out of the kiss and Jisung was glad to see Minho’s face was red too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took a moment to catch his breath and to let everything sink in. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I can’t believe that just happened. I can’t believe we just kissed like that.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I’m not even wearing lipstick anymore.” Jisung said out loud. Minho barked out a laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my goodness, you need to learn to shut up.” His friend said before he placed another chaste kiss on Jisung’s lips. “You’re prettier without makeup anyway.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not as pretty as you.” Jisung countered and leaned forward to kiss Minho’s nose and to hide his blush caused by Minho’s sudden compliment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did I say about talking?” The older boy pulled Jisung closer to kiss him again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I’m a nervous talker.” Jisung spoke against Minho’s lips, making it impossible for them to kiss properly. Minho pushed him back and laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are unbelievable sometimes.” He tutted fondly, a toothy smile still lingering on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who needs to shut up now?” Jisung cocked an eyebrow at the boy under him. Minho laughed again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still you, because you're making me laugh.” He giggled and </span>
  <em>
    <span>good lord</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jisung couldn't get enough of that sound. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That's because I like you.” Jisung said and he pointed his words with another kiss near the corner of Minho’s pouty lips, but then he realized what he just said. “And because of the nerves, of course.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He quickly dove in for another proper kiss to distract them both from his confession from earlier. Minho's giggles quickly died down as Jisung swallowed them up and he felt a soft hand gently hold his cheek again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like you too.” Minho whispered between kisses, making a shiver run down Jisung's spine and making butterflies invade his stomach. “In case you were wondering.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They kept going for a little while longer, smothering each other in soft smooches and more passionate kisses until Jisung's arms were hurting from holding himself up and Minho was too tired to switch their positions. Instead Jisung laid down on top of the older for a while. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I gotta go back soon.” He spoke into Minho’s neck. Minho sighed and tightened his grip on Jisung's waist. “I really wanna stay, but…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But who is going to tell Chaeryoung where you slept? But what if someone walks in?” Minho finished the sentence for him. “I get it, 'Sung. Just—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“—Five more minutes?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jisung didn’t even have to tell Chan and Changbin about what happened, they saw it on his face immediately as he returned to his room. Jisung told them the details in a hushed voice, feeling warmth bloom all over again in his chest as he remembered Minho’s soft lips on his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chaeryoung complained that they were leaving her out again, and she threatened to kick them out, but they told her that they would tell her eventually. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung went to sleep feeling warm, dreaming about dancing with Minho and making music for him, singing to him and spoiling him rotten.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“...</span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to wake up!” A voice mingled through, interrupting Jisung's… </span>
  <em>
    <span>what was I doing again? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He forgot about it and let out a deep breath, getting more comfortable as he tried to focus on what he was doing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, I feel like they are talking about us.” Chaeryoung sounded and someone groaned. “Come on, guys! I know you guys are tired from playing music all night yesterday, but are you going to make me do everything? Wake </span>
  <em>
    <span>up</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh…? Someone needs us? Right! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jisung finally realized where and who he was and he shot up. “Sorry Chaeryoung!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He really didn't want to get scolded again for sleeping too long, so he quickly ran to the bathroom to wash up and get dressed, forgetting to even ask what was going on. He almost bumped into Changbin on his way out of the bathroom and he was barely dressed when there was a knock on the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chaeryoung cracked open the door and greeted two people that sounded a lot like Minho and Seungmin. “Can I help you with something or do you need your friends?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, so Chaeryoung already found out that we know each other. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are still getting dressed, at least, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hope</span>
  </em>
  <span> they are.” She turned around to glare at Chan, who pouted and told her that he was waiting for Changbin in the bathroom. Jisung quickly came to join her at the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm here. I'm ready.” He brushed his clothes straight and greeted his two friends with a bright smile, one that got a little more love induced as he met eyes with Minho. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great, I'm gonna go and see if anyone needs me for breakfast.” Chaeryoung gave Jisung a quick side hug as she squeezed past him into the hallway and disappeared. Jisung then let his friends in, knowing they wouldn't care about them being completely presentable or not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We're leaving.” Seungmin immediately blurted out as they stepped inside. Jisung's heart sank. They were leaving already? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Why?” Changbin came barging out of their little ensuite as if he was waiting for someone to say something important. “Don't you need to investigate some more?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He has been up for like two hours already.” Minho scoffed and shook his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>As expected of Seungmin. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I took the opportunity to investigate the house thoroughly without disturbing anyone.” Seungmin said simply. “I, uhh, still had your keys, Chan.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tossed them back to Chan who reacted a little slow, but still managed to catch the set of keys. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And? You didn't find anything, so you guys are leaving?” Chan guessed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, well—” Seungmin began, but Changbin interrupted him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have to?” He asked. “I mean, Jisung and Minho </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span>—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Changbin!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jisung squeaked, startling his friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? He can know right?” Changbin was right about that, but Jisung didn’t want Seungmin to feel like they weren’t taking the investigation seriously. Seungmin blinked at Minho, whose ears were slightly red, and then at Jisung.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Seungmin said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jisung saw that the gears were turning inside his friend’s head. Seungmin then turned to Minho. “Why didn’t you say so, Minho?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you didn’t give me a chance.” Minho said flatly. “You were telling me everything that you have found at lightspeed and I was just waking up, okay? I didn’t even get the chance to figure out if I dreamed what happened last night or not.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin looked down at his feet. “Sorry,” he mumbled before he looked up and fixed Jisung and Minho with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “But it was about time you guys told each other how you felt, wasn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t mad, thank goodness. He didn’t have to call them out like that, though. They hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> told each other how they felt, just shortly to make it clear that there were definitely feelings between them. Jisung shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, enough talk about us. What did you find?” He said, because that was obviously what Seungmin was here for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well, I said we were leaving because I think what Hyunjin was talking about in his message is at home.” Seungmin said. “That’s why we need to leave.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 10</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you guys enjoyed some soft content in between~ </p><p>Next chapter the focus goes back to the investigation</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. I can’t believe I missed so much in, like, ten hours max</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Hold on, you figured out Hyunjin’s message?” Chan looked at Seungmin from where he was getting dressed, standing on one leg while putting on his pants. </p><p>“Well, I sure hope I did.” Seungmin said, he didn’t want to leave his friends so soon for nothing. He also liked to think that, despite finding out a lot he didn’t know about Hyunjin’s life before he moved to their crappy town in the last few days, he knew Hyunjin’s personality.</p><p>“Tell them the story, Min.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Seungmin and Minho prepare to go back home and investigate Seungmin's interpretation of Hyunjin's message, but they say goodbye first</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hold on, you figured out Hyunjin’s message?” Chan looked at Seungmin from where he was getting dressed, standing on one leg while putting on his pants. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, I sure hope I did.” Seungmin said, he didn’t want to leave his friends so soon for nothing. He also liked to think that, despite finding out a lot he didn’t know about Hyunjin’s life before he moved to their crappy town in the last few days, he <em> knew </em> Hyunjin’s personality.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell them the story, Min.” Minho elbowed him. <em> Right. </em></p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, so… As Minho said, I woke up about two hours ago and I decided that I should use my time wisely and investigate now that everyone’s still asleep.” He began explaining his thought process. “And I searched the house thoroughly, looking for possible ways Hyunjin could’ve gotten in and out of the house and stuff. I found some things, but it didn’t help me that much. It only told me that the person that was with Hyunjin probably knew the house pretty well, but if they came in the same way as they left, then it could as well be Hyunjin who showed them the route.” </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t expect to find out where they had taken Hyunjin, but it was still frustrating that he didn’t know a way he could contact Hyunjin back. <em> Anyway, this wasn’t the important part. </em></p><p> </p><p>“The thing is, I found the library and that’s when it all fit.” Seungmin turned to Jisung now. “You said Hyunjin liked reading in his <em> spare time </em>, right?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah… I did.” Jisung agreed, but his confused expression showed that he didn’t realize how much he had helped Seungmin with that remark.</p><p> </p><p>“When he wrote <em> ‘when I have time’ </em> , I was thinking that he was referring to him not having time to read files or things that could contain clues, but <em> we </em> could. So I was thinking that he was telling us to read things that he didn’t have time to read, but when you said <em> spare time </em> , I realized that he could be referring to himself in general. His whole message is all about what we <em> do </em> know about him, so it makes sense that he’s referring to him reading something that’s familiar to us already.” Seungmin explained and he hoped that it made as much sense to his friends as it did to him. He fished his notebook out of his pocket and pulled out the message again, to remind everyone what it said again. <em> ‘Sorry for lying. I do really like reading when I have time.’ </em></p><p> </p><p>“He apologizes for lying and then he reminds us of something that he <em> didn’t </em> lie about, something that should be familiar to us.” He continued. “In the library I found all of these worn books that fit Hyunjin’s taste perfectly, books that he has probably read a thousand times when he still lived here, but that’s not the point I think. Those books were just regular books and I made a list of the ones that seemed to have been read the most, but I couldn’t find any similarities that could be important to us.” </p><p> </p><p>Chan looked at him curiously and Jisung and Changbin were hanging on his every word, so he got a bit shy. Seungmin scratched his neck a little before he continued. “Uhh… I’m not <em> sure </em> about this, because it might just be my brain thinking this way and Minho did point out that Hyunjin might have not thought it through <em> that </em> well, but I think Hyunjin is smarter than he lets people think he is, so…”</p><p> </p><p>“Just tell us!” Jisung urged him.</p><p> </p><p>“Right! Okay! Sorry.” Seungmin chuckled. “I think he was referring to times when Minho and Felix and I have seen him read at home. There’s of course our library, but he usually takes books home and he also has some books lying around in Minho and his apartment. He also reads often during his breaks at the hair salon.” </p><p> </p><p>“Or before bed.” Minho added. <em> That’s true. </em> </p><p> </p><p>“Wow.” Changbin stated as it was silent for a while, while Seungmin’s friends let everything sink in. “Do you think he left a clue in one of his books?”</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin shrugged. He didn’t know <em> how </em>, but it had to be connected to the case. “Maybe one of his books is a clue in itself.” </p><p> </p><p>“Right! Those guys who have broken into our apartment were looking for something specific, weren’t they?” Minho spoke up. “Maybe Hyunjin is trying to tell us that the thing they were looking for is either one of his books, or there is a clue hidden there.” </p><p> </p><p>“Exactly.” Seungmin was glad Minho understood his train of thought. It was nice to have the validation that his theories weren’t completely crazy. That <em> he </em> wasn’t going completely crazy. He now understood why they always said not to get too personally involved in a case, it made him kind of… <em> desperate </em>. </p><p> </p><p>“You guys make a pretty good team together.” Chan commented with a smile and Seungmin and Minho rolled their eyes simultaneously, making the rest laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“We are glad to see you guys didn’t change too much.” Jisung snickered, cooing a little at the both of them and making them groan in unison. </p><p> </p><p>It gradually became silent between the five of them, Seungmin didn’t want to address the elephant in the room: the fact that they had to leave pretty soon, he wished his friends could come back with them, or that he and Minho could have a reason to come back soon. It <em> would </em> be easier, now that they knew Hyunjin’s parents and knew where they could find their friends, but Seungmin felt like it was too soon to say goodbye now.</p><p> </p><p>The silence was eventually broken by Seungmin’s stomach growling loudly. His face flushed red from embarrassment. <em> Whoops. </em></p><p> </p><p>“That’s right.” Chan laughed. “Maybe we should all have breakfast and then you can go home. I think Mr and Mrs Hwang are waiting for you two.” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They made their way to a room different from the dining hall, where a table was filled with all kinds of breakfast foods. Seungmin didn’t fail to notice that Minho stuck close to Jisung, even if they didn’t say anything to each other. </p><p>Seungmin felt kind of guilty for making them say goodbye to each other so soon, they probably hadn’t had much time to talk about things, but Minho hadn’t voiced any objections to leaving with him. He knew that Seungmin wouldn’t force him to come with him, though. </p><p> </p><p>Chan, Changbin and Jisung didn’t have breakfast with them, but Mr and Mrs Hwang did join them. Seungmin also took the opportunity to make sure that Minho was okay with leaving with him. Minho told him that he was, he didn’t know how to explain to anyone that he would stay just to see one of the servants for a little longer. </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin then updated Hyunjin’s parents on his findings, leaving out any details about Hyunjin’s letter just in case. Mr and Mrs Hwang wouldn’t know anything about Hyunjin’s life back home anyway, so it wouldn’t do him any good. Maybe it was cruel of him, but he had to be careful.</p><p> </p><p>“So we think it’s better to go home again, I can work better from there.” Seungmin said, after thanking Mr and Mrs Hwang for receiving them so well. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course, anytime.” Mrs Hwang smiled as she linked her hands together. “You two are free to come by, and please keep us updated on your findings or if you need anything. You can contact us this way.” </p><p> </p><p>She scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Minho. They then ate in silence, until the door opened, giving way to Yeji and Jeongin. Jeongin had his signature smile on his face and Seungmin’s stomach dropped. He lost his appetite and he felt even <em> worse </em> when Jeongin met his eyes and his smile faded.</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin remembered a time when he thought it was close to impossible to make Jeongin stop smiling and yet here he was, wiping Jeongin’s smile by just <em> looking </em> at him. </p><p> </p><p>“Good morning, everyone.” Yeji greeted them as she and Jeongin joined them at the breakfast table. Jeongin smiled at everyone, but it was a forced smile and Seungmin couldn’t hold back a grimace. He needed to get out of here, preferably, but he also felt bad just <em> leaving </em> without talking to Jeongin. </p><p> </p><p>Yeji sat down next to Minho and so Jeongin sat down next to Seungmin. It was awkwardly silent when Mr and Mrs Hwang left and Yeji ran out of small talk and Seungmin just sat frozen at the table, waiting for Minho to finish his breakfast. </p><p>Minho was busy trying to convey something with his face to Seungmin, however. He raised his eyebrows at him and flicked his eyes between him and Jeongin. Seungmin just grimaced in response and Minho sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“So… We’re leaving today.” Minho eventually said. </p><p> </p><p>“...Right.” Jeongin pressed his lips together and nodded awkwardly. “Does that mean that you did or didn’t find anything?” </p><p> </p><p>Minho moved his gaze back to Seungmin, looking him straight in the eyes. Seungmin kept his lips sealed. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” Jeongin mumbled and he dropped his gaze back to his food. </p><p> </p><p>“What is your problem all of a sudden?” Yeji scoffed suddenly and Seungmin whipped his head in her direction only to see that she was talking to <em> him </em>. “Why are you attacking Jeongin?” </p><p> </p><p>“I—I didn't even <em> say </em> anything.” Seungmin stammered, feeling fragile under Hwang Yeji's fierce gaze. Her eyes had reminded him of Hyunjin’s, but not now that she was pissed, Hyunjin’s gaze had always been gentle on him. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeji, it's fine. He has evidence against me.” Jeongin's voice sounded low and tired as he spoke. Seungmin gritted his teeth, unsure what to do now. </p><p> </p><p>“No. It's not fine.” She retorted. “I just don't understand how you can ignore the way that we have <em> both </em> said that Hyunjin’s disappearance might have something to do with his parents, you know, since he didn’t tell them where he went and I heard my parents talk to them on the phone about Hyunjin, and you decide to ignore that and pick <em> Jeongin </em>as your main suspect even though he basically has the same amount of circumstantial and witness based evidence against him!” </p><p> </p><p>“That's not—That's not <em>completely</em> true!” Seungmin tried to defend himself and his reasoning, but he just saw Yeji getting angrier. “But! We <em>may</em> <em>have</em> found something else that doesn't directly involve Hyunjin's parents or Jeongin, and it may clear either of them from suspicion or it may not. I will continue to investigate only keeping in mind evidence and I will keep every option open.” </p><p> </p><p>This made Yeji's features relax some more and she sat back in her chair, nodding. Seungmin then turned to the boy next to him. “I'm sorry if I hurt you and if I'm underestimating your bond with Hyunjin. If—If I'm wrong… And I really hope I'm wrong and that you're right about me wasting my time—I promise you that I'll try to find a way to make it up to you.” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin waited a second before adding: “If you'll let me.” </p><p> </p><p>Jeongin let out a breath, but Seungmin couldn't read his expression. “Just investigate, okay? Go follow your lead, I trust you to find Hyunjin and figure out what happened. If you do that, then a simple apology will do.”</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin let out a breath of relief and he heard Minho snickering across from him. Jeongin then stood up and picked up his plate to clean up, even though Seungmin was sure that someone else would do it for him otherwise. Seungmin followed him with his gaze all the way until he was out of sight. </p><p> </p><p>Minho kicked him under the table and Seungmin jumped. </p><p> </p><p>“Ow!” He fixed his friend with a glare. </p><p> </p><p>“Stop staring, you fool.” Minho scolded him, but his lips were twitching up into a smirk. “Let's get going.” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin hadn’t even noticed Yeji had left the room too.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>He and Minho looked for their friends before they would leave. Chan told them that they could maybe arrange some way to help them with the investigation, but that they had to talk to Hyunjin’s parents about that.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll get in touch if we need you. Maybe Felix can think of a way we can stay in touch better than by mail.” Seungmin said, giving Jisung a cheeky smirk. </p><p> </p><p>“I know you guys like our letters, though.” Jisung pressed his lips together into a pout. “But maybe I get that it’s not the most satisfying way of communication.”</p><p> </p><p>“It isn’t, but that doesn’t mean Minho didn’t wait for your letters like a child waiting for their birthday every week.” Seungmin grinned and it earned him a push from Minho.</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up. You’re exaggerating.” He grumbled, before turning to his other three friends and pointing a thumb back at Seungmin. “He was at least as bad.” </p><p> </p><p>“As <em> if </em>—” Seungmin began, but Chan stopped him.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, okay! We get it, letters are nice but not optimal, you guys are tsundere, yada yada, same old…” He trailed off and spread his arms. “I think it’s time for a group hug.”</p><p> </p><p>He flapped his hands, inviting everyone into his arms. They hugged each other tightly and wished each other good luck. Of course Jisung also wanted to give Seungmin and Minho a goodbye kiss.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to give <em> me </em> a goodbye kiss, ‘Sung.” Seungmin tried, but he knew that he wasn’t going to escape this one. </p><p> </p><p>“No no no no! You’re getting one.” Jisung tutted. “I’ll give Chan and Changbin a goodbye kiss too if that’ll make you feel better.”</p><p> </p><p>Chan and Changbin sighed deeply, but Jisung (and even Minho) seemed to enjoy everyone’s suffering, so Jisung came closer and took Seungmin’s head between his hands to plant a loud smooch on his cheek before repeating the same process with both Chan and Changbin without <em> too </em> much complaining.</p><p> </p><p>When he got to Minho, they both immediately began laughing, and Seungmin didn’t really get it, but then again, Jisung and Minho could communicate in mysterious ways. Eventually they kissed properly and Seungmin respectfully looked away. </p><p> </p><p>Before Minho pulled away he whispered something into Jisung’s ear which made the younger boy smile and nod. Then he joined Seungmin and they were ready to go.</p><p> </p><p>“See you guys soon.” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I’m here!” Felix yelled as he entered Minho and Hyunjin’s apartment. He was out of breath, he obviously ran here. “I can’t believe I missed <em> so much </em> in, like, ten hours max.” </p><p> </p><p>Felix joined the two in front of the bookshelf in Hyunjin’s bedroom. Minho hadn’t had the time to clean everything up yet, so most of the books laid in front of the bookshelf, but Seungmin thought this was a good opportunity to help his older friend out with sorting and cleaning up. </p><p> </p><p>They were flipping through every book before placing them back in the bookshelf. Seungmin kept track of the title and genre of every book, just in case. He doubted that Hyunjin had put <em> that much </em> thought into it, but Seungmin liked to work systematically.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe you finally got together with Jisung, Minho.” Felix commented while flipping through the pages of a small book. Seungmin flicked his eyes to Minho and saw his ears were growing red.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh— We’re not <em> together </em>… yet? Uhm…” Minho stammered, focused on a book of his own. “We haven’t really had the chance to talk about it properly. We just kissed.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Felix shut the book in his hands. “Sorry.” </p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay.” Minho gently assured the younger, giving him a little smile. “We’ve… It’s not like we haven’t made our feelings clear to each other, but we just haven’t had the time to… talk about getting together and stuff.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, right. Well, I’m glad you guys kissed then. I found some things too, by the way. I didn’t really have time to tell you on the phone—” Felix began. “—Actually, I kind of forgot to tell you on the phone because I was too… worked up over what you guys had told me and stuff, but anyway.” </p><p> </p><p>“Do tell.” Seungmin had his notebook ready. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so I verified the story about motive for the Yang family that Hyunjin’s parents told you.” Felix began and Seungmin already felt his heart sink. “I had to do some inside research and I had to make, like, diagrams and stuff to keep track of everything that would and could change in a business like that and I'm not sure if I did everything correctly but it seems very plausible.” </p><p> </p><p>“That doesn't mean it's over for Jeongin, though.” He continued. “I haven't found anything about Jeongin specifically in the company records, not even from when Hyunjin worked there. He was telling the truth when he said he doesn’t work there. I did find Yeji and her parents and of course Hyunjin’s parents. Yeji works in a different branch than Hyunjin’s parents, her own parents, and formerly Hyunjin.” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin took notes, even though his head was already spinning from the business-talk. He wasn't sure what it implied that Yeji was in a different branch, but whatever. He was glad that Felix had done research, even though Seungmin hadn’t gotten any smarter from it, it may come in handy later. </p><p> </p><p>“Minho, maybe you can look at it with me later, you know a thing or two about businesses too, right?” Felix asked the older.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, but I think you basically know as much as I do by now.” Minho was right, Felix had been educating himself well, he also had helped Seungmin a lot in starting up his private investigation career.</p><p> </p><p>They kept flipping through the books in Hyunjin’s room, but nothing seemed out of place. It would be too far fetched to try to make out a message from the titles or something like that, right? </p><p> </p><p>He sighed as he closed the last book. Had he been wrong about Hyunjin’s message? </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing?” Felix murmured. “What about other things you can read? Letters?”</p><p> </p><p>“Jisung’s letters? No, they weren’t addressed to him. I don’t think there’s anything important in them.” Seungmin said, but he immediately began doubting himself. “I think.” </p><p> </p><p>“I can read them all again, just in case. I don’t mind.” Minho offered. Then he pointed to Seungmin with an accusing finger. “You forgot about the letter that <em> was </em> addressed to him, though.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Oh no, not this again. </em> “My love letter has nothing to do with this! Why would they be looking for my letter?” Again, that wouldn’t make any sense. There was nothing special about that letter that could make it interesting to anyone other than Hyunjin. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know!” Minho threw his hands up. “I’m just trying to point out every possibility.”</p><p> </p><p>The boy stood up and walked to his own room before returning with a stack of letters. “Speaking of pointing out every possibility, you said that Hyunjin liked to read during his lunch break in the salon, right?” </p><p> </p><p>“Wait, you’re right.” Seungmin felt a wave of relief wash over him. Maybe his theory about Hyunjin’s message wasn’t wrong and they weren’t utterly wasting their time right now, there was still a chance that they were right. “Maybe he has a book there.”</p><p> </p><p>It made sense to hide an important book at the salon, rather than at home. The salon was less private, but the salon was also a less easy place to break into during the day. They would have had to make a decision, either break into the apartment during the day or break into the salon during the night. That was, if the people behind this even thought of looking at what Hyunjin had at the salon. And that was assuming that those people even knew that Hyunjin worked there. Jeongin knew, of course, but Seungmin was getting way ahead of himself. </p><p>First things first.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you wanna come with me to the salon, Lixie?” Seungmin asked and Felix nodded. They said goodbye to Minho for now and made their way to the salon.</p><p> </p><p>On the way there they were ambushed by curious people wanting to know what happened to Hyunjin, where they had gone and bla bla bla, but Seungmin really couldn’t tell anyone anything yet. Sometimes living in a small town like this was annoying—<em> actually, </em> it was annoying most of the time. No one followed them into the actual salon, luckily, and the quiet inside was so nice. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey guys, how can I help you?” Yuna greeted them with a bright smile. Seungmin and Felix knew her from school, of course. She was a couple of years younger than them and Hyunjin, but she had taught Hyunjin the ins and outs of working at the salon, so they were lucky that she was working now. She could probably help them out.</p><p> </p><p>“We were actually looking for Hyunjin’s stuff.” Seungmin began. “We were making an inventory of everything that might be missing from the apartment, and we realized he might have some stuff lying around here.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh! Of course.” Yuna motioned them to come with them to the break room in the back. Seungmin had been there before when he joined Hyunjin on his lunch breaks. “We haven’t touched anything, so everything he stored here last time he was here should still be here… Uhh, do you happen to have Hyunjin’s keys…? Otherwise I can, like, break the locker open if you want.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Hyunjin’s keys. </em> </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, we have them.” Seungmin had kept them with him ever since they found them in the bushes, just in case they’d find Hyunjin. And just for the sake of keeping something of Hyunjin with him. It was good that he did.</p><p> </p><p>He showed the set to Yuna. “Which one is it?” </p><p> </p><p>Yuna pointed to the right one and Seungmin opened Hyunjin’s locker. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears for some reason, maybe because <em> of course </em> someone would keep something important in a locker. It also made sense now why Hyunjin had bent his house keys <em> and </em> had thrown away his whole key set. </p><p>At first Seungmin had thought it was to signal them that he had been there and that he was taken, and that may still be the reason, but it would also make sense if The Important Thing would be in here.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>He opened the locker and there was an empty bottle of water, some writing materials as well as a book. Seungmin saw immediately from the cover and the title of the book it was just another popular fiction novel, but he supposed that he should flip through it just like they did with the other books just in case. </p><p> </p><p>“So… Do you have any leads on where Hyunjin is?” Yuna suddenly spoke up, startling Seungmin. “Like, did he get bored of the town or something? I thought he was having fun here. And, like, he wouldn’t leave <em> you </em>, right?” </p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, Yuna, we’re still investigating, so we can’t really tell you anything yet.” Felix explained, giving her an apologetic look. “But yeah, I thought so too, he wouldn’t leave Seungmin like that.” </p><p> </p><p>“Uhh— I think she meant us, not me specifically?” Seungmin intervened. He wouldn’t leave Felix or Minho or Yuna, for that matter, this ‘easily’. </p><p> </p><p>“Right.” Yuna nodded and waved him off with a big grin on her face, giggling to herself. <em> Huh? </em></p><p> </p><p>Seungmin shook his head, it was probably nothing. Yuna was just a giggly girl. </p><p> </p><p>“Anyway, thank you, we’re just going to take this back to the apartment to look at it and we’ll bring it back when we’re done.” They thanked Yuna for her help and she pouted at them, asking if they couldn’t tell her even a <em> tiny bit </em> of information, and Felix almost gave in, but Seungmin stopped him, he really wanted to get back so they could look at the book.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on Lix, let’s go.” He dragged his friend out of the salon and back to Minho’s apartment. When they got back, they found Minho sitting on the couch, reading the letters from their friends back at the Hwang residence with a small smile on his face. </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin didn’t plan on disturbing him, but he couldn’t help but be impatient and wanting to see if he was right or not <em> right now </em>. He almost slammed the book onto the coffee table as he plopped down on the carpet and opened the book. </p><p> </p><p>“Wow…” Minho lowered the letters irritatedly, but his expression smoothed as he saw what was in front of Seungmin. “Hey! You guys actually found a book!” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Felix confirmed. “It looks like just another popular novel, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, wait.” Seungmin frowned as he stopped flipping through the pages and kept the book open at a page somewhere in the middle before flipping back to the beginning and then forward again. “This isn’t… There’s <em> writing </em> in here.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?!” Felix exclaimed, leaning forward to take a better look at what was on the pages of the book. He turned to Seungmin. “You were right? Does this tell us why he’s gone?”</p><p> </p><p>“I— I don’t know yet. Uhh— Let me read.” Seungmin’s hands were shaking for unknown reasons. Maybe it was the adrenaline of just having found another clue, but not yet knowing what it entails. At least, he <em> hoped </em> this was a clue.</p><p> </p><p>The first few pages were just the beginning of the story, but after a few pages, the printed letters of the novel were replaced by cutouts from other documents, as well as written notes around the cutouts.</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin willed his eyes to focus on what was there, but he needed to calm his thoughts down first. <em> This is definitely a clue. This could be what they were looking for. This could tell us who took him. Please don’t be Jeongin.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Wait, this looks familiar.” Felix suddenly said, getting Seungmin and Minho’s attention. Felix flipped through the pages a little more, a small frown on his face as he squinted at the writing and mumbled some things to himself, too softly for Seungmin to hear properly. </p><p> </p><p>He then grabbed his phone.</p><p> </p><p>“Felix, what is it?” Minho asked, looking between the book and Felix with confused eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“Ah! It <em> is </em> familiar! I thought so.” Their friend whooped with a satisfied grin on his face. He then turned to Seungmin and Minho, hopefully he was going to tell them what he was going on about soon, because Seungmin was almost bouncing in his place from anticipation. “Okay, guys. This book is important. It definitely has something to do with Hyunjin’s disappearance.”</p><p> </p><p>“Please elaborate, Lix. I think I’m going to die if you don’t tell me something concrete.” Seungmin urged the boy. Felix pressed his lips together in a grin before pointing to the book.</p><p> </p><p>“It looks like Hyunjin was compiling information of his family's company and gathered his research here.” He said. “And it looks like he didn’t want anyone to find out.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> End of chapter 11 </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>vital clue?!?!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. This is definitely meant to expose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Okay, so Hyunjin is researching his family’s company…? And he is being secretive about it? It made sense that he had hid his research where he did. He had probably written all of these notes during his lunch breaks in the salon too. There were still a lot of questions about the details, though.</p><p>It depended greatly on what kind of research he was doing who could be looking for this. And how did anyone find out he was conducting this research in the first place? Where did he get the documents he had used from? Was he already gathering information during the time he worked at the company?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Seungmin, Felix and Minho investigate Hyunjin's book and decide on their next steps</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so Hyunjin is researching his family’s company…? And he is being secretive about it? </span>
  </em>
  <span>It made sense that he had hid his research where he did. He had probably written all of these notes during his lunch breaks in the salon too. There were still a lot of questions about the details, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It depended greatly on what kind of research he was doing who could be looking for this. And how did anyone find out he was conducting this research in the first place? Where did he get the documents he had used from? Was he already gathering information during the time he worked at the company?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felix, you’re really saving me here.” Seungmin sighed, he should probably talk to his friends rather than think on his own about this. Felix looked at him with a confused look but Seungmin stood up and gave him a hug in appreciation and relief. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re getting closer to finding out what happened for real now. I can feel it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What would I have to do without you two?” He murmured into Felix’s shoulder, but he made sure it was loud enough for Minho to hear it too. He just felt so relieved that they were finally getting somewhere, he almost felt like he could cry, but he was getting ahead of himself again, because he still had no idea what actually had happened to Hyunjin and why.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw, Minnie.” Felix hugged him back tightly. “You’re doing all the important work, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not true.” Seungmin pulled out of the hug to give Felix a stern look before sitting down again in front of the book. “Anyway… You said this looked familiar?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! This looks a lot like the documents in those files that you sent me.” Felix opened the pictures that Seungmin had taken of the files in the study and had sent Felix. “I recognized some of the terms and names.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, maybe it’s best if you and Minho take a look at that, because I think you two are way better at business terms than I am.” Seungmin told them, while thinking of something useful that he could do to help. Maybe he could just read through the notes he had taken so far about the case, gather his thoughts and stuff so he would be prepared to link whatever Hyunjin was researching to the rest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Leave it to us!” Felix bumped his fist against his chest with a proud smile before focusing his attention on the book on the coffee table.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Seungmin sat at the small dining table, still at Minho and Hyunjin’s apartment, while Felix was still sitting on the carpet near the coffee table, flipping through the book. Seungmin didn’t know how he survived sitting and lying down on the floor for that long. Minho had fallen asleep on the couch in the meantime, Felix probably hadn’t noticed, otherwise he would’ve gotten a blanket for him, so Seungmin stood up to get a blanket from Minho’s bedroom and draped it over the older boy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix flicked his eyes up to Seungmin to see what he was doing and Seungmin warned him to be quiet so as to not disturb Minho. Felix smiled a little as he focused on the book again. Seungmin just wanted to ask his friend if he needed help with anything, or if he was hungry or something, when Felix gasped softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minnie!” He whisper-shouted, while hastily motioning Seungmin to sit down next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? What is it?” Seungmin almost tripped over his own feet as he scrambled to sit down. “Did you find out what this is all about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! I think I did!” Felix breathed, he was obviously worked up about his findings. “Hyunjin obviously helped me out with his notes, but this research is about… uhh… he’s basically exposing the things wrong with the company.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, okay. That’s… definitely a motive for anyone in the company to want him gone. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin gulped, his heartbeat picking up it’s pace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And at first I thought he was just nitpicking, like an analysis on how things could be better, but no, this is definitely meant to expose.” Felix explained some more, his hands were shaking a little as he flipped through the pages, looking for a certain one. He then pointed to Hyunjin’s writing. “Look here—Like, thank goodness Hyunjin’s notes are there to help me out, because I would have never noticed on my own—There are all of these small things that don’t add up exactly, and Hyunjin points them all out and it basically shows that the company is </span>
  <em>
    <span>stealing</span>
  </em>
  <span> from their employees and customers. Also, I think they’re screwing over the people they fire, but, like, in a really clever way.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh shit. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are stealing?” Seungmin repeated softly. That was bad, but things began to make a little more sense now. It was beginning to get </span>
  <em>
    <span>very likely</span>
  </em>
  <span> that the people who had broken into the apartment were the same as the people who had kidnapped Hyunjin and they were looking for his research, this exact book, but Hyunjin wanted them to find it first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“W—Who is behind it? Does it say?” He leaned a little closer to inspect the book. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t, but what I noticed, is that it is mainly in the branch where Hyunjin worked.” Felix answered. “I haven’t looked at </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> yet, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he was serious about this, but I skimmed through the most important parts. It looks like the problem is mainly within the branch of which the Hwangs are in charge. Which means…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin is innocent?” Seungmin’s eyes widened hopefully at Felix. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Uhh— I hope so, yes. </span><em><span>I</span></em><span> believe</span> <span>he is innocent. The Yang family is part of a completely different, but adjacent branch. Whatever happens in the Hwangs’ branch has an influence on the Yang branch and vice versa, but the Yangs do not necessarily profit from this.” His friend explained. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So he was right…” Seungmin murmured. He was incredibly happy about that, but he also felt incredibly guilty. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Shit. Does— Does this mean that Hyunjin’s parents are behind this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, as far as I see it, their branch would suffer the most if this comes out.” Felix said hesitantly. “It is bad for the whole company of course and I’m not sure what will happen exactly to the other branches, but yeah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>His own parents. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin also didn’t really want to believe that, but then again, it would explain why Hyunjin didn’t tell them where he went before he left. It would give them a motive to confiscate Jeongin’s phone and try to frame him for what happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felix, thank you so much. I love you.” Seungmin wrapped his friend in another tight hug. “You really saved this case. Oh my gosh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We still need to find Hyunjin, though.” Felix chuckled as he returned the hug. “Do you think that Chan, Changbin and Jisung might know something unconsciously? Like, would they know a property of the Hwangs that could be used as a hiding spot?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That’s right. Chan, Changbin and Jisung are their servants. They are obviously not involved, that would be dangerous… Wait. But what if Minho and I have involved them? Shit. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin…?” Felix regarded him with a worried look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, Lix. What if Hyunjin’s parents found out that we know them and that they helped us? Does that mean that they are in trouble too?” Seungmin stood up, he needed to stay calm and think about it. Would it be dangerous for them if Hyunjin’s parents found out that they were helping him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They of course wouldn’t do something obvious to hinder Seungmin or Minho directly with the investigation, because they didn’t know what kind of contacts they could have, but it was different in their three friends’ case, because they </span>
  <em>
    <span>worked</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the Hwangs. And because they already weren’t really allowed to be open about that, and they didn’t have phones—or at least, they didn’t use them—so basically no one would notice it if they were gone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin’s stomach dropped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They wouldn’t go that far, though, right?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin are you serious? Do you think they could be in danger?” Felix stood up too, and he spoke a little too loudly, causing Minho to stir awake and blink at them in confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on…?” Minho yawned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes a little.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh— Bad things— Good things? Both, I guess.” Felix rambled, still a little shaken by Seungmin’s sudden theory that three of their other friends might be in danger as well as Hyunjin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you find? Why are you two looking like that?” Minho was suddenly very awake and he frowned at the duo. Seungmin took a deep breath and started telling Minho about what they had found, letting Felix take over eventually. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait… Fuck. Our </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span> are with Mr and Mrs Hwang!” Minho carded a hand through his hair in distress. That was exactly what Seungmin was also worried about, although they weren’t sure yet that Mr and Mrs Hwang were behind everything. “We need to make sure they’re okay!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho immediately began gathering his stuff, his hair a mess from his nap and carding his hand through it earlier. He then looked at Seungmin. “What are you standing still for? We need to go!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Minho… I’m worried too, but… we just left this morning. We aren’t even sure if it is really Mr and Mrs Hwang who are behind this!” Seungmin didn't want to just go back there unprepared. “What are we going to tell them?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We'll just tell them—I don't know—that we forgot my watch there or something.” Minho waved his hands around vaguely, letting out some impatient grunts in between. “I'll go alone if you don't want to come.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Seungmin immediately declined. “We're not going to leave each other alone, okay? We have to stay in contact in some way or another. Now that they know that we're investigating Hyunjin’s disappearance we can't leave each other alone.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho sighed, but Seungmin knew that he thought about things the same way. Felix nodded too. “If you guys are going to leave again, I'll quickly charge up the comms for you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy turned around to leave, but hesitated a bit. “Unless you guys want me to come with you? I can stay in the car and bring my laptop and some other stuff?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin pressed his lips together in thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Would it be dangerous for Felix to come with us…? Or would it be more dangerous for him to stay here? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mr and Mrs Hwang didn't know that Felix was involved as far as Seungmin knew, so it could be dangerous for Felix to stay behind in the car, but if Mr and Mrs Hwang or the culprits already knew that Felix was involved it could be more dangerous to leave him behind. At least Minho and Seungmin could get to him faster if he'd come with them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh—I don't know yet.” Seungmin settled on. “What do you think, Minho?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does this mean you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>coming with me?” Minho raised a tentative eyebrow and Seungmin nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I'm just going to get a new pair of gloves and a pen, that'll give Felix some time to charge the comms too, we'll leave as soon as possible after that.” He said and Minho nodded in agreement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'll hurry up. Let me know if you guys want me to come!” Felix patted his friends on their shoulders before he dashed out of the apartment. Seungmin looked down at Hyunjin’s research and then at Minho. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be careful.” He told his friend, not quite sure what he was referring to himself, but it couldn't hurt to say. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You too.” Minho returned and Seungmin left the apartment as well, taking a deep breath as he stepped outside and breathed in the cool evening air. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He just realized that he hadn't written anything down in his notebook about Hyunjin’s research yet and so he took the short walk home to gather his thoughts and take out his notebook to help him. It was pretty silent outside, but somehow that was more unsettling than comforting to Seungmin at the moment. He clutched his notebook against his chest, protectively, feeling his stomach churn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was glad that they were finally getting somewhere with the investigation, but he couldn't help but feel like he was still coming short, because they still didn't know where Hyunjin was, or how to contact him. He sighed as he stepped into his apartment, letting the door fall shut behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His apartment was even more quiet than outside, but he ignored the unsettling feeling it brought him and gathered what he came here for before checking his phone for any messages from Minho or Felix. Seungmin also briefly contemplated texting Jeongin, sending him an apology or something, but he decided against it. Maybe he would see him soon, then he could tell him in person. And maybe he wanted to be a little more sure about things first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He then decided to write down about Hyunjin’s research in his notebook before leaving his apartment and meeting up with his friends again, to kill some time while Felix was charging up the comms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was about finished with writing down everything that he remembered when there was a knock on the door of his apartment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh? Who could that be? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin checked his phone again, but no one had sent him something recently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another knock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He closed his notebook and approached the door, looking through the peephole to see someone he didn't recognize standing casually in front of his front door. He flinched when there was another knock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hello?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>A muffled voice sounded, one Seungmin still didn't recognize. He stayed quiet, not sure what to do at this point. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Private Investigator Kim Seungmin, right?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin's senses sharpened at that comment. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What does he want? Should I answer this? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He couldn't help but be on edge after just having found a good lead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“My name is Park Jinyoung, I’m here because I heard that you were investigating Hwang Hyunjin’s disappearance.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The man said and Seungmin’s heartbeat accelerated quickly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Park Jinyoung… Do I know that name? Jesus… Why can’t I remember? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin tried his best to remember if he had seen that name in the files and he contemplated texting Felix and Minho about it. He probably should, because he couldn’t remember for the life of him if he had seen the name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please, it may be urgent.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Park Jinyoung knocked again.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He typed out a quick</span>
  <em>
    <span> ‘Do we know a Park Jinyoung?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> before he decided to open the door, only to be met with the fist of this Park Jinyoung who was about to knock again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah.” Seungmin took a step back and Jinyoung apologized.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry. Thank you for opening the door. I have a message from Hyunjin, and I heard that you were investigating his disappearance, so I thought we could use each other’s help.” The man explained, he was dressed in a suit and a long coat, much like Seungmin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you?” Seungmin cautiously asked him and he noticed his eyes flicking past Seungmin a couple of times, looking into the apartment. He wasn’t sure if he should trust him or not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, excuse me. I’m Park Jinyoung, I work for the company owned by Hwang Hyunjin’s parents and I… I noticed there was something wrong in a certain branch.” Jinyoung told Seungmin. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so he was suspicious too? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I thought Hyunjin was onto something as well and… I think it has something to do with his disappearance.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded solemnly, not wanting to give away anything until he was finished speaking. He wondered how much Park Jinyoung knew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He told me something before he left the company, and I didn’t think much of it until I heard what happened. He told me that he would find out what was going on there, and expose them, and I’m thinking that that’s why someone might be looking for him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Something is wrong. Hyunjin didn’t even tell Jeongin about his research. He didn’t tell anyone. Why would he trust this man?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would Hyunjin tell you about his research?” Seungmin challenged him. He wasn’t sure if that was the right decision, but whatever. He couldn’t play along with this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you know about it?” Jinyoung raised an eyebrow at him. His eyes flicked to the right, looking past Seungmin to his notebook that was lying on his dinner table. “Did you find it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He thinks my notebook is Hyunjin’s research…?</span>
  </em>
  <span> That could be an opportunity. Seungmin’s mind raced, thinking of a plan quickly. He stayed quiet, and he saw Jinyoung’s eyes become… </span>
  <em>
    <span>greedy</span>
  </em>
  <span> as he flicked them back and forth between Seungmin and the notebook. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for finding it for us.” Jinyoung’s eyes glinted with mischief as a small smile formed on his face, making Seungmin sure of it that he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> on Hyunjin’s side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Jinyoung could make a move, Seungmin swung his leg forward, kicking him in the balls </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard</span>
  </em>
  <span> and dashing off to get his notebook and retrieve a lockable box with some old jewelry he had gotten from his mother. He quickly put his notebook into the box, fiddling with the key as Jinyoung recovered and came storming into the room, groaning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He managed to lock it before Jinyoung could do anything and he clutched the box close to his chest, holding the key in his fist securely. The man let out a sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t want things to come to this, Kim.” He said, holding up a cautious and warning hand. “Hyunjin needs it. Hand over the key.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin didn’t believe him, so he didn’t move, keeping steady eye contact with Jinyoung. He demanded again for Seungmin to hand over the key and the box. He would have not minded keeping the research in the box if he really wanted to give it to Hyunjin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinyoung then dashed forward and reached for Seungmin’s arm, making Seungmin drop the box. It clattered loudly on the floor and the sound allowed Seungmin to release his arm from Jinyoung’s grip and quickly stuff the key into the first place that came into mind where Jinyoung couldn’t easily get it. Which meant he stuffed it into his underwear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinyoung followed Seungmin’s hand with his own, but immediately stopped right in front of Seungmin’s groin, sighing real hard. He muttered an exasperated </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘oh my gosh’</span>
  </em>
  <span> as he closed his eyes and pressed his lips together before glaring at Seungmin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go fuck yourself.” Seungmin said flatly. “You don’t give a damn about Hyunjin.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I really don’t want to knock you out or grope you, but you’re being incredibly difficult.” Jinyoung hissed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t knock me out.” Seungmin warned him, quickly thinking of some kind of excuse. “Hyunjin is smarter than you might think. He actually gave me a hint on how to decipher his research. You need me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do I know you’re not lying to me?” Jinyoung was just as wary of him as the other way around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t. But are you going to take the chance?” Seungmin raised a challenging eyebrow. Jinyoung was just about to answer when Seungmin’s phone began ringing and Jinyoung squinted at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare answer that.” He warned him and Seungmin kind of wanted to see what he was capable of, so he took his phone out of his pocket, only for Jinyoung to punch his phone out of his hand. It fell to the ground and Seungmin heard a crack. Jinyoung then kicked it under a closet and the ringing stopped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So far for my phone. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh well, he didn’t have anything too important on that anyway. And this would warn Felix and Minho that there was something wrong, so hopefully they would come here soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> do not want to knock you out, but if you keep being this difficult, I’ll have no choice.” Jinyoung’s right hand was twitching at his side and Seungmin wasn’t sure if he had, like, a gun with him or something or if he was getting ready to punch him. He would put his money on the second one, because if he had a gun he would have already threatened him with that to get the key and run off with the notebook. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll have to hurry up, though, because my friends are coming here to check up on me, since I’m not answering my phone.” He told Jinyoung, who seemed to doubt him, but he knew that Seungmin could as well be telling the truth, so he was probably weighing the options right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, come with me then, or I’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>take</span>
  </em>
  <span> you with me.” Jinyoung threatened, but Seungmin wasn’t afraid. Whatever that guy would do, it wouldn’t be too bad, because otherwise he would have done something already. He saw that Seungmin wasn’t going to cooperate that quickly, so he grabbed Seungmin by the wrist, trying to pry his hands off of the box and take him with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin resisted and tried to kick him in the balls or something again, but it caused him to stumble and fall over, letting go of the box. Jinyoung toppled right on top of him and took the opportunity to headbutt him </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the nose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He let out a groan in pain, clutching his nose. Jinyoung then leaned back to grab something from inside of his jacket and Seungmin pushed him over and off. He tried to stand up and make a run for it, but Jinyoung was fast to recover this time and he snatched Seungmin’s ankle. Seungmin lost his footing and slipped, his chin hitting the floor and sending a sting through his jaw. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He quickly crawled up, he needed to make sure there would be enough time for either Felix or Minho or both to come here and help him. He heard the faint sound of his phone ringing again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So my phone isn't broken. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shouldn't try to pick up right now, though, he had more important matters to attend to. Jinyoung stood across from him and Seungmin really didn't want to resort to violence, but he needed to find a way to stall, so he jumped forward and tackled the man. They wrestled around on the floor, rolling around, both trying to overpower the other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinyoung was stronger than him, unfortunately, so he ended up being pushed down on the floor—unfortunately and very inconveniently reminding him of The Incident with Jeongin and— </span>
  <em>
    <span>no I should </span>
  </em>
  <span>not </span>
  <em>
    <span>be thinking about right now. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He kicked around, but Jinyoung was sitting on Seungmin’s knees, restricting them, and he held his wrists down above his head with one hand while grabbing a roll of tape from his coat with the other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinyoung taped Seungmin’s wrists together and taped his mouth shut for good measure too, as he saw Seungmin open his mouth to yell. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> are coming with me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed Seungmin by his shirt and pulled him up harshly, dragging him along to his bedroom window after picking up the box with Seungmin's notebook. Jinyoung opened the window and threw the box down one story before pushing Seungmin forward. “Come on, Kim, let's get out. Or do you want me to knock you out after all? You're not afraid of a three meter jump are you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin gritted his teeth behind the tape, debating how much more he could still stall, or if he should take the jump and try to run. He kind of needed his notebook, and he wasn't looking forward to getting knocked out, so he went for the second option, awkwardly swinging his leg over the ledge as carefully as he could with his hands tied in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He jumped down, but the way his hands were tied made him unable to land properly and stable himself. He fell and felt a sharp pain in his ankle. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Why did he have to sprain his fucking ankle right now? So far for his plan to run. Seungmin didn't even manage to get up before Jinyoung joined him, landing significantly more gracefully than Seungmin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bad landing?” He quirked an </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoying</span>
  </em>
  <span> eyebrow at Seungmin and smirked. “Too bad. We gotta go. Get in the van.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even though Jinyoung told him to get in the van, which was parked right at the back of Seungmin’s apartment building, he didn’t give him much choice as he grabbed him by his shirt again and basically threw him into the back of the van before Seungmin could even get up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door was slammed in his face and he sighed defeatedly. With his ankle fucked up like this and his hands taped together he didn’t have much of a chance to escape. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. I really fucked up, didn’t I? Well at least he didn’t take Hyunjin’s actual research</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He suddenly felt two hands grab his shoulders and he tensed up, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. He inhaled sharply and tried to turn around in the strong grip, but then a cloth was pressed to his face and he was overcome with the strong smell of chloroform. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He struggled, tried to keep himself from passing out, but he knew that he couldn’t stop it. Not when his hands were tied. </span>
  <em>
    <span>See you guys later, I guess. Minho, Felix, please come help, </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the last thing he thought before he slumped back and passed out. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 12</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Park Jinyoung?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. This is why I am a florist in my daily life and not a spy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A message from Seungmin.</p><p>‘Do we know a Park Jinyoung?’, it said. This was probably more a text meant for Felix, but Minho picked up the book with Hyunjin’s research anyway, because maybe Felix was too busy to answer. He flipped through the pages, searching for a Park Jinyoung somewhere.</p><p>Why was Seungmin asking this suddenly, anyway? Did he come across something?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The continuation of previous events, now from Minho's perspective! He and Felix are faced with a difficult question: Do they try to find Seungmin or will they go through with their plan of going back to the mansion?</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Minho was just chilling (meaning he was fidgeting and trying not to be impatient while waiting for his friends to come back), when he felt his phone vibrate. A message from Seungmin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Do we know a Park Jinyoung?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it said. This was probably more a text meant for Felix, but Minho picked up the book with Hyunjin’s research anyway, because maybe Felix was too busy to answer. He flipped through the pages, searching for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Park Jinyoung</span>
  </em>
  <span> somewhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was Seungmin asking this suddenly, anyway? Did he come across something? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, there he is…</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho grabbed his phone and texted </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘yeah, he comes up in Hyunjin’s research, why?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> back. Felix also texted something back. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I think I remember seeing his name a couple of times too.’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I’m omw, btw.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’m back! Did you guys—” Felix stormed inside and startled the </span>
  <em>
    <span>life</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of Minho and he almost threw his phone out of his hands. </span>
  <em>
    <span>On my way means two steps away from my apartment apparently!</span>
  </em>
  <span> The former smiled sheepishly in apology. “Sorry. Uhh— Seungmin isn’t back yet?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, maybe he didn’t see our texts? Should we call him?” Minho thought that maybe Seungmin was catching up on his notes or something, but he also knew that they were kind of in a hurry, so he wondered what was taking him so long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’ll call him.” Felix took out his phone and dialed Seungmin’s number as he handed over Minho’s comm to him. Felix put his phone on speaker and put his stuff down, he came prepared, Minho saw. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The phone kept ringing and ringing, until it switched to voicemail. Felix frowned and Minho mirrored the expression. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did the guy forget his phone?</span>
  </em>
  <span> His friend typed out some messages for Seungmin and they waited a minute or two for a response before calling him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It rang and rang, but Seungmin didn’t pick up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit.” Felix breathed, turning to Minho with worry in his eyes. “Do you think something happened? Did anyone follow you home?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho thought back on their way home, but he couldn’t remember being followed. Seungmin would have noticed it if they were being followed, right? It would be obvious if someone had followed them to their tiny town, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so, but it doesn’t matter if they did. Whoever took Hyunjin already knew where we live.” Minho gritted his teeth. He really didn’t want to worry about </span>
  <em>
    <span>another</span>
  </em>
  <span> friend being in potential danger. What would they want from Seungmin, anyway? Did they want to profit from his investigation? Steal evidence? The only thing Seungmin had with him were Hyunjin’s keys and his notebook. Those were important, but not as important as Hyunjin’s research.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think we should check up on him.” Felix bit his lower lip nervously as he pocketed his phone again. “Maybe I’m being paranoid, because you guys were also worrying about Chan and Changbin and Jisung, but…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to go anyway. Even if everything’s fine, he needs to hurry up.” Minho stood up and grabbed his stuff so they could leave as soon as they found Seungmin. “Let’s go.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two of them hurried out of the apartment to Seungmin’s place, Minho almost tripped over his feet on the stairs up to his friend’s apartment, but he managed. Felix knocked on the door hurriedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix! You have a key, right? Use it!” Minho urged his friend. He also had a key himself, they all had keys for each other’s apartments, because they all trusted each other with their life basically, and Minho really thanked whoever was out there for that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix let out a soft yelp and quickly grabbed his keys to open the door, almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>slamming</span>
  </em>
  <span> it open. They were met with an empty apartment, but they could hear the wind blow and the sound of a running engine outside and the sounds were coming from Seungmin’s bedroom. His bedroom door was open, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin?!” Felix exclaimed, but no answer. Minho quickly took him by the wrist and dragged him to the bedroom, where they indeed saw his open window. Outside, they just saw a van drive away. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit.” Felix cursed and immediately turned around to run out of the apartment again. “Let’s go, maybe we can still catch them, or see a license plate!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho dashed after him, but they were too late, the van was already out of sight when they ran out of the building. They didn’t even know for sure that Seungmin was taken in that van, but the window in Seungmin’s bedroom was open, he didn’t pick up his phone and that van drove away from right under the window. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh. What do we do now?” Felix rubbed his hand along his face. It was a good question, would they stay here and try to find out what happened to Seungmin, because they knew for sure that Seungmin was gone, or would they leave and go back to the Hwang residence to check upon their other friends and maybe see if Seungmin was there too?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh… Let’s check his apartment quickly, but we’ll still go to the Hwang residence.” Minho decided. “We need to follow the lead that Hyunjin left for us. Seungmin would want that too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right.” Felix nodded.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>They searched Seungmin’s apartment and they found his phone under a closet, the screen broken. There was no sign of his notebook lying around and there wasn’t anything else strange. Minho couldn’t help but think of Seungmin’s text. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Do we know a Park Jinyoung?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. What was that all about?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The apartment didn’t give them any leads, so they just decided to pack up and leave. Felix was flipping through Hyunjin’s research, trying to find out who this Park Jinyoung could be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you finding anything?” Minho flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror to look at Felix in it, who had his laptop and some other equipment stashed on the backseats as he read the research. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well— Yeah.” Felix confirmed a bit distractedly, he was obviously still reading. “Uhh— There’s… This Park Jinyoung is either in two branches of the company, or there are two Park Jinyoungs working at the company.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess it wouldn’t be weird for two Park Jinyoungs to work there.” Minho commented. That would make it harder for them to figure out which of them may have visited Seungmin, though. “Which departments do they work in?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh… One of them is a senior worker in the same branch as the Yangs and the other is an intern. I think.” Minho heard the rustling of papers and some typing behind him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Yang branch? Shit. But how does that make any sense? Is the intern involved, then? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t understand…” Minho sighed. He tried to make sense of everything in his head, but he was focusing on driving and there were a lot of things to take into account. He could use Seungmin’s notes right now. “Does this mean we were wrong again? But Hyunjin’s research is pretty incriminating, right? If that would come out, you said that it wouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>directly</span>
  </em>
  <span> hurt the branch the Yangs work in, right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well— Uhh, yeah, I said that it would probably hurt the main branch the most— so the branch where Hyunjin’s family is mostly involved— but I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> entirely sure.” Felix explained. That… didn’t help him a lot. “Sorry Minho, I’m doing my best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, Lixie. I’m thankful. You’re really helping us out here.” Minho sighed again. Where would they have been without Felix? Felix had been the one who had helped them find Hyunjin’s keys and he knew the most about Hyunjin’s family’s company by </span>
  <em>
    <span>far</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of the three of them. “We’re almost there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’ll stay in the car. You keep your comm on so we can sort of be together and, like, come rescue each other in case anything goes wrong.” Felix organized his stuff a little on the back seat of the car before seeking eye contact with Minho in the rearview mirror. Minho hummed affirmatively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, see you soon. Stay safe.” He parked his car as close as possible to the residence, just in case, but just outside the gate, because otherwise they’d see Felix and probably question what he was doing. He told the gatekeeper he had forgotten his necklace after the party and after a while, he was let into the property. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he entered the house, he was greeted by the small but broad frame of Changbin and he almost burst out into crying right then and there. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh my gosh, thank God Changbin's okay. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho!” He chirped happily as Minho tackled him into a tight hug. Changbin stumbled back a bit, but steadied them. “You're back already?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes—Yeah, I—” Minho pulled back, running a hand through his hair, probably messing it up. Changbin raised his eyebrows at him. He shook his head, trying to form a coherent sentence, but he never was good with words. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unlike Seungmin. And Jisung. And Chan. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Speaking of which… </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are Chan and Jisung?” He blinked and looked around the hallway, as if his friends would be here of all places in this gosh darn big house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Is Changbin there?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix sounded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, not sure. We were practicing music earlier, but then sir Hwang asked if he could speak to Jisung for a second and then I went to see if Chaeryoung needed any help. Chan went to our room to write, I think.” Changbin told him, knitting his brows while thinking. Minho's stomach dropped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mr Hwang wanted to speak to Jisung? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... Minho?” Changbin began hesitantly. “Did something happen? I don't like the look on your face.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho took Changbin by the wrist and started walking towards their room. “You said Chan was here?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah— But— Are you going tell me what's going on?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho barely heard the younger over the sound of his heart beating in his ears and opened the door to the servants' room and looked around to see Chan sitting there, focused on the paper in front of him. Another weight off of his shoulders, but he wasn't calm yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where—” He began, his voice cracking and Chan jumped, turning around in his chair with wide eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where is Jisung?” He got right to the point, they may not have a lot of time, after all. Chan squinted, a little disoriented from being disrupted during his writing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Minho? Did you find Chan?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix said, but Minho still couldn’t answer right now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, He—What was it?— Mr Hwang wanted to speak to him and he came by here to fetch your letters, because they found out that we knew you guys— or that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew you— and they wanted to know if we or he broke the contract, I think.” Chan scratched his neck a little. “I offered Jisung to talk to Mr Hwang and explain everything, but he said it was fine and that he wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t do anything to your letters.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit. They found out?” Minho cursed. “Is he still there?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No idea…” Chan murmured as he stood up and regarded Minho with a concerned look. He flicked his eyes between Minho and Changbin. “What is going on? Why are you back? Is he in danger?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Minho just came in and asked where you guys were.” Changbin shrugged, but Minho didn’t really hear it as his mind was already busy with trying to figure out where Jisung could be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho?” Chan asked again as Minho walked out of the room, catching up with him. “What are you doing here? Where is Seungmin? Is there something you need Jisung for?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe if you tell them what’s going on they can help you?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suggested too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you all stop asking questions for two seconds?” Minho snapped as he kept walking through the hallways, followed by Chan and Changbin. “Felix, please focus on doing what you’re doing. Chan, Changbin, we need to find Jisung asap.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re talking to Felix, too?” Changbin ran up to him. “Why do we need to find Jisung? He could be anywhere.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because! He might—” Minho stopped in his tracks and Changbin bumped into him. He turned around to his friends. Felix was right. Maybe if he explained a little, they would see the urgency of the situation. He lowered his voice. “Look, Mr and Mrs Hwang might have something to do with Hyunjin’s disappearance and if they found out that you guys know us and might be helping us with the investigation… well, I don’t see why they wouldn’t get rid of you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan and Changbin’s eyes widened. A look of fear appeared on their faces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh—What?!” Changbin hissed. “Shit!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well, let’s go look for him.” Chan said. “But let’s stay together, in case what you’re saying is true and they’re trying to get rid of us or something.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Be careful, guys.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will, Lix.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>They searched through the house, asked Chaeryoung and Yeji if they had seen Jisung and they both said that they saw him last near the office, probably to talk to Mr Hwang. Before they could make their way to the office, though, Mrs Hwang approached them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho! You’re back already. I heard you were back and I was looking for you, but I see that our servants have let you in already.” She clapped her hands together with a smile before gesturing towards Chan and Changbin. “Are they helping you find your necklace?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, they are! I can’t seem to find it in the guest room, though.” Minho put on his best polite smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We thought that maybe it got into the laundry with the sheets and all.” Chan explained. “Jisung took care of that room, so we’re actually looking for him to see if he found it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah! If you find him, tell him that Mr Hwang and I took a quick look at the letters and that he can come get them again, they’re in the office.” She smiled and left them alone again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s not in the office anymore? Gosh… where is he?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jesus!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suddenly exclaimed, making Minho jump in surprise. He was never ever in his life going to get used to this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, right? What do we do now?” Minho muttered back. Where should they look next?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea where he could be…” Changbin sighed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What are you doing here?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh? He wasn’t talking to me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix? Who are you talking to?” Minho frowned and put his finger on the communication device in his ear. This was bad. Unless it was Jisung, but Minho figured that Felix would tell them if he found Jisung. Chan looked at him curiously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, he’s… not here.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix replied to the mystery person, but Minho couldn’t hear the other person clearly enough to figure out what they were saying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You what?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix? What is going on? Do I need to come over there?” Minho urged, speaking softly, because he wasn’t sure if the other person could hear him too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> Wait a second.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix said, before lowering his voice. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Minho, uhh… Jeongin is here.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? Why?” Why would Jeongin come there? Was he looking for something or someone? Was that suspicious? </span>
  <em>
    <span>I should really focus on finding Jisung… Is Jeongin trying to distract us from that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on? Is Felix okay?” Chan asked and Minho was kind of going crazy speaking to multiple people at once like this, but he guessed he had to deal. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This is why I am a florist in my daily life and not a spy.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin is there.” He quickly filled them in before focusing on Felix again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He says he saw Jisung</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We kind of need to hurry, Felix.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho could now hear Jeongin faintly through the comm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I know! Two seconds. Uhh. He came here because he was scared to go after Jisung alone, because there were people he didn’t recognize with him. He thought he would find Seungmin here because he saw you get out of the car when we arrived.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix explained hurriedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit. Fuck. Where—? You can’t leave your stuff behind. You can </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> leave the car, Lix.” Minho felt despair wash over him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please not Jisung too. Please.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I know. I know. Jeongin saw him on the west side of the house.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jisung was spotted on the west side of the house, with people Jeongin didn’t recognize.” Minho quickly repeated to Chan and Changbin. “Where is that? Let’s go!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. Uhh. West is uhh…” Changbin squinted and turned half a circle before pointing forward. “There.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They started moving to where Changbin pointed. Minho wiped his forehead, he was beginning to sweat from being so anxious. First Seungmin and now Jisung? Minho honestly thought he had been through enough in the past couple of days. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No. Maybe we can still stop them from taking Jisung. I can’t give up.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“Really? I can drive, though.” </span></em><span>Felix sounded in his ear again. </span><em><span>What is he going to do?</span></em> <em><span>“You can</span></em><span>— </span><em><span>Right. That’s fine.” </span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felix, what are you doing? Where are you going?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m just going to borrow your car and go to Jisung with Jeongin. Maybe we can follow them if they bail. Don’t worry, I’ll stay in touch.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Gosh…</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Don’t do anything stupid please. Don’t leave your things behind.” Minho hoped this wouldn’t get them in trouble. And he certainly hoped Jeongin wasn’t behind this all and he was taking them out one by one and Minho was letting it all happen before his very eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I won’t.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix promised him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the meantime, Chan, Changbin and he had reached a part of the house Minho hadn’t seen yet, and there was a small exit on this part. Chan told him that they would use this exit while taking out the trash and things like that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What a metaphor…” Minho scoffed. They exited the residence and were met with emptiness, but Minho could hear the engine of a car. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Chan and Changbin seemed to hear it too, because the three of them simultaneously dashed towards the sound and Minho saw a car drive away for the second time today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And for the second time today, he was too late. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fuck! There they go!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix cursed in his ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix! Black car, do you see it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes! I see it. Shit. We’re going after them.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are Felix and Jeongin going after them?” Chan informed, a deep frown on his face. Minho nodded. “Gosh… And then what? Do they have a plan? They can’t just—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“—I know, Chan. What is your plan then? They might lead us to Hyunjin. And Seungmin. Felix knows how to be careful. I can hear everything he’s saying.”</span> <span>Minho said. He was worried, too, because there wasn’t really a way for Minho to get to them in case of an emergency quickly—</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Seungmin</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Where is he?” Changbin interrupted Minho’s train of thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right, they don’t know.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. That’s… quite the </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> too.” He sighed, chewing on his lower lip a bit. “He… uhh… He was visited by someone named Park Jinyoung and now he’s gone too. His phone was kicked under his closet, his window was open and we saw a van drive away.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Jesus.” Chan ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. “They got Seungmin? And you guys are sure that Hyunjin’s parents are behind this? Who is Park Jinyoung?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the thing… We aren’t sure about basically </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> about the people who are behind this, except that they probably work at Hyunjin’s parents’ company.” Minho told them. “Park Jinyoung is either a senior working for the Yang family’s branch of the company or an intern.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the heck.” Changbin stated rather than asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Exactly.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now the question was what Minho should do. He didn’t suppose that Chan or Changbin had a car somewhere at hand. He was beginning to sincerely regret letting Felix leave with Jeongin and his car. At least Felix was driving, if he could trust what he had heard through the comm, but he felt nauseous thinking about the scanty possibilities he had now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t help Felix if he needed him, he couldn’t go back home easily and he didn’t know if he should confront Mr and Mrs Hwang about Jisung going missing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If only Seungmin was here to consult me. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t worry, Minho. You’re not alone. You have us.” Chan clapped a hand on his back. “Fuck the contract. Our friends need our help.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Minho started off by asking Hyunjin’s parents about their talk with Jisung, because they couldn’t find him anywhere. Mr Hwang told them that he had just asked about if he had had any contact with Hyunjin, since Jisung and Minho were sending each other letters and Minho was literally Hyunjin’s roommate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was obvious from your letters that Hyunjin wanted to keep his whereabouts a secret, though. We let him go before we read the letters, but maybe we shouldn’t have done that, if he’s gone now.” He said with a slight frown on his face. He turned to Minho specifically. “Do you think he’s hiding something? What did he write in his letters back to you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve looked through those for any clues already, but I’ll let Seungmin know that he needs to look through them again.” Minho bluffed, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of the man pointing to that he knew about Seungmin’s disappearance, but Mr Hwang’s expression stayed schooled and he nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. You probably didn’t find your necklace yet, did you?” Mr Hwang inquired and he hummed as Minho confirmed. “Right, you wanted to find Jisung for that. Well, maybe Chaeryoung can help you find it. Otherwise, if you’re tired or hungry— it’s getting late, after all— you can go home and we’ll send it to you if we find it. Of course feel free to ask our servants for some food. I wouldn’t drive home on an empty stomach.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, I’ll search for a little while longer.” Minho gave him a polite smile and Mr Hwang left the room. Minho then went to meet up with Chan and Changbin in the kitchen, he thought it would be better to talk to Mr Hwang alone, just to make it seem like he wasn’t as close to Chan and Changbin as he was to Jisung. And he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hungry</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And?” Changbin asked, his voice low after he handed Minho a plate of some food.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing concrete. What he said made sense. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘thinks’</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Jisung ran away and he didn’t show any signs of surprise or anything when I mentioned Seungmin, but that doesn’t really mean anything, I guess.” Minho sighed and slumped against one of the counters. He was getting a headache from thinking so much today. He couldn’t believe that he didn’t even know that Chan, Changbin and Jisung worked for the Hwang family a little over 24 hours ago. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What a day.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fact that he was worried about Seungmin and Jisung </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Felix right now wasn’t helping his case (and he was worried about Hyunjin too, but he had been that for longer than today). At least there was a chance that Jisung could still be saved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And Felix and Jeongin?” Chan raised his eyebrows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We’re still driving. Jeongin has written down the license plate, but I can’t run it right now, since I’m driving and all.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix said and Minho repeated it to Chan and Changbin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you are really driving. Is that… okay?” Minho guessed it would exclude the possibility of Jeongin kidnapping him or something, but it allowed Jeongin to maybe steal something from Felix’s stuff.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s okay, Jeongin is sitting next to me and he’s keeping a close eye on the car. Jeongin can’t drive, so I didn’t really have a choice.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but you’ve been driving for a pretty long while. Do you have any idea where you’re going?” Minho really didn’t like the idea of Felix going so far, what if the comm stopped working? It was getting pretty late too and Felix hadn’t had any dinner whatsoever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uhh, I don’t know, but we’re not going to our town.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, be careful.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I</span>
  </em>
  <span>— </span>
  <em>
    <span>wi</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The comm crackled in Minho’s ear and his eyes twitched at the harsh sound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“I sai</span></em><span>—</span><em><span> I will</span></em><span>.”</span> <span>Felix repeated.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I think the connection is getting bad. Or something.” Minho said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah I can’t h</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> well either.”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit.” What do they do now? Was calling Felix safe right now? Maybe not while he was in the house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“It’s ok</span></em><span>— </span><em><span>just drivin</span></em><span>—</span> <span>—</span><em><span>all me later.”</span></em> <em><span>It’s okay, I’m just driving, call me later? Is that what he’s saying? </span></em><span>Minho tried to reconstruct the parts that he had heard into a sentence that made sense.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will call you later, Lix. I will call you later.” He repeated himself just in case Felix didn’t hear him properly. Minho now only heard vague sounds, but mostly crackling. It wasn’t a nice sound, but he decided to keep the comm in, just to be safe. He quickly ate his food, but Chan told him to calm down and that if there was really something, that Felix would call him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Minho had finished his food he said ‘goodbye’ to Mr and Mrs Hwang, and he met up with Chan and Changbin again outside of the premises. Apparently they had no problems with ‘running away’, even though they knew it would make Hyunjin’s parents suspicious of them and may cause them to lose their jobs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They met up far away from the residence enough to not be spotted from there, but close enough to still see if anyone would arrive there. Minho still heard crackling in his right ear, so he called Felix, hoping he would have his phone somewhere he or Jeongin could reach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix didn’t pick up the first time and it made Minho incredibly nervous, but Felix luckily called him back a couple of minutes after. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hi, sorry. I couldn’t get to my phone in time, but… they’ve stopped.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 13</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>More disappearances... :0</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. It felt as if whatever they did, they stayed a couple of steps behind whoever was behind this</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“You need to take the next exit.” Jeongin suddenly leaned forward and pointed to the sign that announced there was an exit coming. </p><p>“Oh, jesus. I almost missed that.” Felix could still spot the black car leaving the highway and taking the exit, so he turned on his indicator. Thank goodness Jeongin was keeping a close eye on the car that supposedly had Jisung in it, because Felix had a hard time talking to Minho while focusing the car and driving safely on the road. </p><p>“I hope this means they’re stopping soon.” Jeongin murmured.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First chapter from Felix's perspective! We're following Felix and Jeongin in their rescue-Jisung mission and we're meeting some new people!</p><p> </p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“It’s okay, we’re still just driving a couple of meters behind them. You can call me later, Minho.” Felix called out, so that Minho could hopefully hear him a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“</span></em><span>—</span><em><span>ill</span></em> <em><span>call</span></em><span>— </span><em><span>later.”</span></em><span> His laptop let out ugly crackling sounds. He couldn’t believe that they were having troubles with range in this day and age. He should really find out a way to fix that when he has the time. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You need to take the next exit.” Jeongin suddenly leaned forward and pointed to the sign that announced there was an exit coming. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, jesus. I almost missed that.” Felix could still spot the black car leaving the highway and taking the exit, so he turned on his indicator. Thank goodness Jeongin was keeping a close eye on the car that supposedly had Jisung in it, because Felix had a hard time talking to Minho while focusing the car </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> driving safely on the road. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope this means they’re stopping soon.” Jeongin murmured. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I should get a little closer now that we’re more likely to lose them.” Felix pondered out loud and he checked if it was safe to accelerate and get a little closer to the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be careful. Maybe they have already noticed that we’re tailing them…” Jeongin sounded a little nervous and Felix could relate, he really was more of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay inside and hack around a little </span>
  </em>
  <span>person than a </span>
  <em>
    <span>go out into the field and kick some ass </span>
  </em>
  <span>person. He guessed that Minho and Seungmin also weren't really the second type, but Felix also wasn't a fast decision maker, and he really couldn't leave all of the important things in the car behind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They drove around on smaller roads and the car didn’t really seem to want to get rid of them, so they either didn’t notice, didn’t mind that they were being followed or they </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> them to follow them. Felix hoped for the first option, but he had no idea how likely that one was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was completely silent in the car as Felix focused on keeping enough distance but not losing the car and Jeongin kept a close eye on the car as well. They didn’t dare to speak, as if the people in that other car could hear them if they did. At one point, the silence was broken by Felix’s phone ringing and he almost yeeted the car off the road in shock. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. Minho is probably calling me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aah! I really can’t pick up now! They’re going around a corner!” Felix gripped the wheel harshly as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh— Should— Should I take it…?” Jeongin’s hands hovered a little near Felix, but he had his eyes still on the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No— It’s fine.” The black car was slowing down as they drove onto a seemingly deserted street not anywhere near any towns. Felix slowed down too. “I think they’re stopping soon.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And indeed, the ringing stopped and the car stopped soon after that, so Felix immediately drove sideways, trying to hide his car a little behind a dumpster at the side of the road and he turned off the headlights. As the car stopped he slid his hands off the wheel and let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh, I’m really nervous.” He chuckled softly, keeping his voice down. He flicked his eyes to Jeongin while fumbling to get his phone out of his pocket and saw that he wasn’t doing any better.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too.” Jeongin spoke breathily as Felix dialed Minho’s number. “Why did you think I wanted someone to go with me? Not just because I can’t drive.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to not do anything alone anyway, even if it seems like it’s just a small thing you’re doing.” Felix remarked, thinking back on what happened to Seungmin. He scowled and saw Jeongin frown a little in confusion. He didn’t have time to explain because Minho was already picking up, he wasn’t even sure if anyone would get mad at him if he would tell Jeongin that Seungmin was gone, so he didn’t say anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi, sorry. I couldn’t get to my phone in time, but… they’ve stopped.” He informed his friend, closely monitoring the black car. Two people got out of the car, but Felix didn’t recognize them from this distance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s fine. Are you safe? Where are they? Can you see Jisung?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho asked at light speed and Felix heard some whispers through the phone that sounded a lot like Chan and Changbin. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But that is not important right now, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix thought as he saw the two guys pull out none other than Jisung out of the backseat, he recognized those cheeks from miles away, even in the faint and orange streetlight. He almost teared up, seeing him after so long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Slow down, Min. Two guys are pulling Jisung out of the car right now and they are pulling him behind, like—what is that?— a small building or something. I can’t really see well in the dark.” Felix narrated, he flinched as they were kind of rough with the boy. Jisung’s hands were tied with what looked like duct tape and his mouth was sealed too. He soon disappeared behind the building.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh my gosh, can you see if he’s okay? Can you help him?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho sounded frantic and Felix heard Chan whisper some more. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank goodness he’s not alone.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know…” The two guys reappeared from behind the building, without Jisung, and got back into the car. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Jeongin frowned. “They’re just leaving him behind there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“They’re leaving him? Where? Why? Is he alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho was cut off by Changbin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Minho, relax! You’re making me incredibly nervous.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sorry.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh— They’re driving away.” Felix announced and then turned to Jeongin with wide eyes. “What do we do? Do we follow them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uhm—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No! Go save Jisung!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho yelled through the phone immediately. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You can’t leave him behind! What if you find Hyunjin or other things there?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Felix nodded, but he was still afraid. He had no idea what else was behind that building. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can go look, maybe? Then you can stay with your stuff.” Jeongin proposed hesitantly. Felix felt icky letting Jeongin go alone, but he also really didn’t want to leave behind his laptop and Hyunjin’s research. That was way too dangerous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin saw the silence as a sign that he should go, because he reached for the car door. Felix reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait. Take this with you.” Felix reached behind him to grab his backpack and fish out the communication device and little microphone he was supposed to give to Seungmin earlier. He handed the earpiece to Jeongin and gestured for him to put it in his ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“With this you can hear me and I can hear you, the same way I was in touch with Minho before he called me.” Felix explained as he hid the little microphone in Jeongin’s collar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow.” Jeongin chuckled. “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>spy movie</span>
  </em>
  <span>. What is the button for?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you push it you can turn it on and off. It’s off now.” He said and Jeongin nodded in understanding. The younger took a second to take a breath before he walked out of the car and pushed the little button on the device. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, here I go.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He sighed as he slowly made his way to the small building across from the road. Felix held his breath in suspense. It was starting to get real dark and the street lights didn’t provide a lot of light around here, so he hoped nothing scary would happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lix, you’ll tell us if something happens, right?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho sounded through Felix’s phone again, he now sounded a lot calmer, but he was clearly still on edge. Felix could relate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I will. Jeongin just left as you probably heard.” He told him. “He’s nearing the building behind which they threw Jisung.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He heard multiple people sharply inhale as he said the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘threw’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>through his phone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Whoops. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Meanwhile Jeongin was standing with his back against the wall of the building, probably listening if he heard anyone other than Jisung.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Felix?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin whispered very softly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Can you hear me?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yes. I can hear you. What’s up? Do you hear anyone?” Felix’s hands were shaking from the nerves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I only hear muffled sniffling. Does that mean they’re waiting for me? Or is Jisung alone?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin’s voice was also shaking. He was probably even more scared than Felix was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope it’s the second one.” Felix provided, not that helpfully, but he didn’t know what else to say. “Can you… like, carefully check?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin let out a very deep and shaky sigh and then he held a thumbs up to Felix from where he was standing near the small building before he very slowly and very carefully peeked around the corner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was awfully silent and Felix wondered what was taking so long? Was it a good or a bad sign that he was peeking around the corner for so long? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I can’t see shit.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin cursed softly and Felix had to hold back laughter. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> shouldn’t laugh right now, but the nerves were killing him and he couldn’t help it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What’s going on, Lix?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho asked, sounding a little worried, but before Felix could respond he heard a yelp come from Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Innie?” The nickname slipped out without him noticing. “Are you okay? Do you need help?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ack! If you let me go, I can help you get out of here!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin groaned and Felix heard more soft and muffled noises. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is he talking to Jisung or someone else?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Felix! Please answer me! What is going on?!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho was getting impatient.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I— I’m not sure! Either Jeongin found Jisung or someone else— He’s talking to someone.” Felix told them as he focused on the building, trying to spot Jeongin, but he was out of sight. He still heard faint sounds coming from Jeongin's comm, but he had no idea what he was hearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“There you go. Now come with me, Felix is waiting.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin said and Felix perked up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jisungie?!” He exclaimed as he saw two bodies appear from behind the building. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jisung?!!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>A chorus of voices echoed from Felix's phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two figures hurried toward the car and when Felix saw Jeongin and Jisung he almost cried again. Jeongin was supporting Jisung as they hurried over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Felix couldn’t wait for his friends to cross the short remaining distance to the car and he hurried out to jump into his friend’s arms. Jisung twirled him around happily as he stumbled back. Then they heard yelling coming from the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Felix!! Is he safe?!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung’s eyes widened in question as he heard the yelling too. Felix snickered and got his phone out of the car. The three of them formed a circle around Felix’s phone. “Yeah he’s safe, just a little bruised. Jeongin found him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin nodded. “They just left him alone behind that building. There’s literally nothing else around there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was so scared.” Jisung sighed. He was just about whispering as he spoke and his voice was weak. “But luckily Jeongin was there— Even though I almost whacked him in the face because I didn’t realize it was him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thank goodness you’re okay.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho sighed exasperatedly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Jesus.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho?” Jisung’s voice was hoarse, his cheeks stained with red streaks, his hair a mess and his wrists were bruised. Minho let out a whimper as he heard Jisung speak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jisungie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you to deal with Mr Hwang on your own.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chan answered instead, announcing his presence in the meantime.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Jisung’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat, but it didn’t help a lot. “I said I could handle it. I just— I just went outside to take out the trash and suddenly— suddenly someone grabbed me and put duct tape on my mouth. Then they took me to a car behind the fence.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did… did you see who took you?” Jeongin asked hesitantly, but Jisung shook his head, pressing his lips together in regret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t recognize them.” He murmured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Did someone tell you to take out the trash?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho spoke up again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No… It’s part of my schedule.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay. Maybe you guys should come back, if there’s nothing to see there. It’s getting late.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should.” Felix agreed. He wondered if he could maybe do some investigating while they got back, but maybe it would be too cruel to ask Jisung if he could drive after what happened to him. He could try, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please don’t hang up yet, though.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>This was Changbin speaking. Jeongin assured him that they wouldn’t and for a second Felix couldn’t believe that Jeongin was a suspect for having kidnapped Hyunjin. He was speaking so gently to Changbin, and Changbin was just Hyunjin’s servant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin got into the passenger seat again and Jisung was about to step into the back of the car, but Felix stopped him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uhh, ‘Sungie?” He asked and Jisung gave him a curious look. “Maybe it’s too much, but do you think you could drive? You can take a moment to calm down first, but I maybe wanted to do some research on who took you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Jisung took a deep breath. “Yeah, I gotta take a breather for a second, but I think I’ll manage? I’ll let you know after a minute or two.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Felix placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder before he went to sit in the back and Jisung went to sit in the driver’s seat, closing his eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths before he opened them again and frowned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” He turned his head between Jeongin and Felix. “What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you two</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing here to save me? This is a combination I didn’t expect. Innie, you can’t even drive! And Lix, I thought that you were the at-home-tech-guy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea why Felix came to the house, but I saw Minho get out of this car all of a sudden and I saw you getting taken so I went to the car to see if I could get help.” Jeongin explained. “But I have no idea what Minho was here for.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uhh… we actually found something which hasn’t been confirmed by any means, but that meant that we were worried for you guys.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho added very vaguely, but he was probably still careful about telling Jeongin too much, since indeed nothing was confirmed yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. That’s nice and vague, but whatever.” Jisung chuckled funnily because his voice was still hoarse. “Wait so you knew that they were after one of the servants? Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but we suspected that you guys </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> be in danger.” Felix clarified as he got started on searching up the license plate, asking Jeongin for confirmation of the plate numbers just in case. “As Minho said, nothing is confirmed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh and… uhh… Jisung?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Changbin began hesitantly. Jisung hummed as a sign he could continue. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Mr and Mrs Hwang were kind of suspicious of you because you… ‘ran away’ after your talk and now we also kind of ran away from the house, so… uhh…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get it. It’s okay. We’ll figure things out.” Jisung seemed pretty calm considering what he had just been through. Or was that just because he was tired? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe he shouldn’t drive…</span>
  </em>
  <span> “By the way, where’s Seungminnie?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“About that… He was busy with another lead.” Felix focused on his laptop in hope that his lie would go unnoticed. “Maybe we should go. Should I drive?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Nah, it’s fine. Seeing and hearing you calmed me.” Jisung spoke hoarsely. “I think driving will take my mind even more off of what happened.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, if you say so. But just stop if you feel like you can’t.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>They drove for a while, mostly in silence, or with Minho, Chan and Changbin’s soft chatter in the background, they were talking about what to do next and where they should sleep. Sometimes Felix updated them on what he was finding, but he couldn’t find anything about the license plate, so it was probably a fake. He sighed. These people knew what they were doing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wondered why they would take Jisung and just dump him behind a broken down building somewhere that was exactly the opposite way from the residence as their town. Was it some kind of distraction strategy? Or were they planning on taking him to their hideout, but they noticed that they were being followed so they just dumped him? So that no one wouldn’t find Seungmin and Hyunjin?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was frustrating. It felt as if whatever they did, they stayed a couple of steps behind whoever was behind this. The only thing they had ahead of them was maybe Hyunjin’s research, because what else would Hyunjin have meant with his message? This had to be what they were looking for, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, Lix?” Jeongin suddenly spoke up softly. Felix looked up from his laptop at Jeongin. “Uhh… Did you find— I mean… Uhm. I don’t know how to say it. I really want to help you guys, and I understand it if you guys don’t want to risk it, but I’m glad that you trusted me and let me come with you to go after Jisung.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix gave Jeongin a little smile. “Thank you for helping and understanding.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And… Can you tell Seungmin that I’m sorry for yelling at him? I didn’t really look at the situation from his perspective. I just— I was so stressed about anything and I wasn’t thinking clearly. I want him to know that I’m sorry.” That hurt a little to hear. If he could, Felix would call Seungmin right now and tell him that he didn’t need to worry about Jeongin hating him anymore, but he couldn’t. Still, he nodded and Jeongin seemed relieved. “Thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix then continued researching Park Jinyoung a little more, although he also couldn’t really find too much about him without holding Hyunjin’s research with him, but he didn’t want to just hold that out in the open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, uhh, I think we need to stop for gas soon.” Jisung suddenly remarked, his eyes flicking across the dashboard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Right, that is very much possible.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so the three in the car looked for a gas station to stop while Minho explained what kind of gas to use for his car and other kinds of details. Felix offered Jisung to do it so he could rest a little more and when they arrived at a gas station Jeongin said that he was just going to go out to get some fresh air. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Felix was filling up the car, he heard Jisung speak inside the car and Felix saw that he had a small smile on his face. He was glad that he could give Jisung the time to speak with Minho, Chan and Changbin a little more in private. Maybe he and Minho could talk a little more about what happened yesterday (</span>
  <em>
    <span>wow, only yesterday?</span>
  </em>
  <span>) night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin went to stand somewhere a little behind the car, just leaning against a pole with his phone in his hand. Felix wondered if he was going to try and call Seungmin himself, but unfortunately Seungmin wouldn’t pick up, no matter who was calling. He hoped that Jeongin wouldn’t think it was because Seungmin was still angry with him or something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Anyway, I should go pay for the gas now.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Felix came back from paying, he heard some noises coming from where Jeongin was previously standing and immediately he ran over there, his stomach clenching with a bad feeling. Too many bad things had been happening today already so he couldn’t take any chances right now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...right? Your family is friends with the Hwang family, isn’t it? Hwang Yeji, Hwang Hyunjin.” A girl with dark hair cut in a bob asked. She was standing across from Jeongin with a helmet in her left hand. Next to her was another girl, with long dark hair, who was also holding a helmet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What do these bikers want with Jeongin?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Who are you?” Jeongin stood straight, although a little stiff, and Felix was a little surprised by his confident stance. Felix stepped forward and made himself known while raising his eyebrows at the girls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The name’s Ryujin and this is Julia, but maybe you know her as Jisu or Lia better? I mean, I assume Yeji has mentioned us at least once.” Ryujin said and from Jeongin’s expression Felix deduced that she was right about Yeji having mentioned them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She has. I haven’t heard your names in a while, though.” Jeongin relaxed a little from his stiff but confident posture now that he seemingly remembered who those girls were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’s the company? And how is Yeji?” Julia (</span>
  <em>
    <span>or Lia, or Jisu?</span>
  </em>
  <span>) then asked and Felix really hoped they wouldn’t want to talk for too long, they should really get back. The long haired girl then turned to Felix. “And who is he? Also from the company?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We really don’t have time for this right now, but he’s not from the company. I still don’t work there, so I don’t know how it’s going with that. Yeji is fine, but you can ask her yourself if you want.” Jeongin apologized politely, but Ryujin scoffed at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can’t really ask her. I don’t know if she told you, but we got a restraining order. For the whole family, but most importantly for Yeji.” She said bitterly and Felix honestly got a bit scared. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A restraining order? That must be for a reason. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin’s eyes widened and Felix wasn’t sure if he remembered things or if he was just shocked. “We fucking got a restraining order for trying to tell her there was something wrong with that company!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait… Something wrong with the company? She was onto something as well?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I remember now. You guys were fired, right? I remember Yeji complaining that she lost her friends in the company.” Jeongin nodded and wiggled his index finger at the memory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, only Ryujin was fired. I quit.” Julia corrected him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oops, sorry. Uhm— I’m really sorry, but I can’t really do anything about that. I think we need to go—” Jeongin began, but Felix felt like they shouldn’t go yet. These two girls could maybe help them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If they worked for the company they might be able to give us more insight on Hyunjin’s research. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” He interrupted the younger, holding a hand up. He should first discuss this with Minho. “We don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Just— Just </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait</span>
  </em>
  <span> a minute, I’ll be right back.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got some confused looks from the three he left behind in order to unfortunately disrupt Jisung in his soft spoken conversation with Minho and maybe Chan and Changbin. “Sorry for interrupting, ‘Sungie, I need to borrow Minho for two seconds!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s okay! I guess everyone wants to have their turn with the Minho.” Jisung assured him with a chuckle and Minho let out a cackle through the phone. Jisung’s voice was still a bit hoarse, but it was better, and that made Felix happy, so he leaned forward to give his friend a hug before taking the phone to a more quiet spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Minho, I’m sorry if I interrupted something.” He started off with after he turned off the speaker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, nothing important. The four of us were just chatting. I</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> I didn’t want to bother Jisung with too much serious talk right now. Do I need to send away Channie and Binnie, by the way?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho told him and Felix thought that made sense, although he also thought it might cheer them up, because he was pretty sure that they both had feelings for each other, and that they would gladly be officially together, but he also understood that that wasn’t the most important right now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, I don’t know… It’s about what we found earlier today.” Felix said. “I don’t know if knowing too much could still bring them in danger?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, let’s just play it safe, then.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho said and then Felix heard some shuffling around, probably either Minho going somewhere private or Chan and Changbin leaving him alone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What is it? You aren’t on the road again, are you?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope, but there were two girls who approached Jeongin.” He started explaining everything that happened in summary to Minho and posed the question he was currently pondering about, should he ask them for their help or not?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uhh… I’m not sure and I don’t want to be a Debby Downer but Seungmin would probably know what to do, so I’ll try to channel him.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho said and a short silence fell before he spoke up again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It sounds like those two have some kind of a grudge against the company, so I think they would be on Hyunjin’s side? Unless they of course want to steal the research and get rich themselves by using it as blackmail against the company.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix had no idea if those girls were the kind to do that. The fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> found them kind of intimidating didn’t mean they were bad people, not at all. Felix wanted to believe in the goodness of people usually. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe Jeongin knows them a little better…? Nah, it didn’t sound like he knew them really well… Thinking of Jeongin, am I in danger of exposing too much if I ask them for help in front of him…?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So many questions…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, do you think I should ask them for help?” Felix chewed on his lower lip as he thought about what to do himself too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You know what? I say fuck it. Do it. We aren’t getting anywhere on our own. We could use the help of some girls with a grudge against the company!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho stated. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“But maybe you should first kind of get an idea of if they don’t also, like, have a grudge against Hyunjin or something.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right. Thank you. I’ll do that.” Felix nodded fiercely, having found new determination from possibly advancing the case by asking for help. “I’ll give you back to Jisungie now!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho laughed heartily and he wished Felix good luck with asking them and had him make sure that he would be careful. He would, because if he wasn’t careful, he would risk their whole investigation, which was not exactly a nice responsibility to carry on your shoulders, but if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> careful and those girls were willing to help them, there was a slim chance it could save the investigation, so he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to take the chance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’m back. I have some things to ask you two, actually.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 14</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lia and Ryujin have appeared! Will they save the investigation?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. They need you, but not as much as I do</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He tried to move his hands, but a sting in his shoulder and his wrists told him his hands were bound tightly behind him.</p><p>He groaned when a cold hand forcefully lifted his head up. He squeezed his eyes shut as the world began spinning around from too much head movement and a wave of nausea washed over him suddenly. His stomach was empty, though, so nothing happened. He realized that he hadn't eaten since breakfast and he had no idea what time it was now, but he guessed it had been at least twelve hours. </p><p>“Look at me.” A deep voice demanded.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We won't continue where we left off, but I hope you won't be too mad about that, because this chapter IS filled with maybe even more interesting things imo ;))</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“...Wake up, you useless prick!” A stinging sensation on his cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh…? What’s going on…? Where am I? God</span>
  </em>
  <span>— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why does my head hurt so much...? Why does everything hurt?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin tried to blink his eyes open, but he felt like his head was about to split in half, even though it wasn’t that bright in the room where he was currently, wherever that may be. He tried to move his hands, but a sting in his shoulder and his wrists told him his hands were bound tightly behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He groaned when a cold hand forcefully lifted his head up. He squeezed his eyes shut as the world began spinning around from too much head movement and a wave of nausea washed over him suddenly. His stomach was empty, though, so nothing happened. He realized that he hadn't eaten since breakfast and he had no idea what time it was now, but he guessed it had been at least twelve hours. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look at me.” A deep voice demanded and Seungmin just had the mind to comply, his memory slowly catching up to the situation. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right. Park Jinyoung. The van. He thinks my notebook is Hyunjin’s research.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pressed his feet to the floor and the sharp pain in his ankle told him that he hadn’t dreamt that he had jumped out of his apartment’s window. He wasn’t sure what to do now, though. He wondered if they figured out his notebook </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> actually Hyunjin’s research. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You still gotta give us the key.” The man said and Seungmin had no idea who he was, because his vision was still all blurry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait… Key? For what</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>? Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He remembered now. He was glad no one got impatient and groped around in his pants. His hands were tied, though, so he couldn’t really reach the key. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I—” He began, but his voice was hoarse from disuse, so he cleared his throat, but before he could continue, someone was already fidgeting with his hands to untie one of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hurry up a bit, will you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin sighed and quickly retrieved the key from his underwear and just tossed it onto the floor in front of him. His arm was snatched back and his hands were re-tied with something that cut uncomfortably into his wrists, but the pain wasn't as bad as his splitting headache. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” Someone scoffed—Was it the same man as earlier? He didn’t know anymore, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he could barely hold himself upright on the chair that he was bound to. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He was shaking from being cold, but at the same time he was sweating and his head felt hot. He felt dizzy and weak and uncomfortable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Did I overwork myself or is this just because I haven’t eaten in so long?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin wasn’t exactly a </span>
  <em>
    <span>medical</span>
  </em>
  <span> doctor, but the only thing he knew was that he felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He wasn’t really paying attention, but he heard the click of a box open and he saw a couple of people in front of him confirm the contents of the box that was brought from Seungmin’s apartment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sincerely hoped that it would take them longer to figure out that this wasn’t Hyunjin’s research than it would take Seungmin to think of a plan. In his current state that would be hard, but he always wrote his notes in such a way that it would be hard for anyone other than himself to understand, using his own made up abbreviations and that sort of thing, so he hoped that would give him some more time. He had told Park Jinyoung that they would need him to decode the research.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They quickly flipped through the pages of the notebook. “Seems legit. Thanks, Kim.” One of the guys scoffed or chuckled or something and then Seungmin heard the slamming of a door. At first he thought they had all left, but he heard some murmuring and grumbling, so they weren’t done here yet, apparently. He then heard the door slam again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was silent after that so he concluded that they had left him alone for now. They would probably come back soon, and he thought he could stall them more by demanding that they’d feed him first, because otherwise he couldn’t help them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But for now, Seungmin stopped thinking, because his head would definitely explode if he thought for too much longer. He leaned forward with a groan, desperately wanting to let his head rest somehow, but his tied hands and torso caused the position to be uncomfortable. He tried to clear his head and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> think about how his friends were probably worried about him and he had no idea how to contact them or how he was probably disappointing Hyunjin by having made the mistake of following Jinyoung’s order to jump out of the window.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t even have the energy to cry or something right now— </span>
  <em>
    <span>gosh, I am useless.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He couldn’t do anything other than just sit and breathe and try to ignore the awful headache and nausea he was feeling. He even contemplated just toppling over the chair so he could ‘lie down’, but he doubted how much that would help him and he doubted if he could get himself upright again after.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so he just kept his head hanging and his eyes closed, listening to only the sound of his own shaky breaths. After a while—He thought it was not that long, but who knew, honestly?—he heard some muffled shouting. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. They couldn’t possibly have figured out that it is not Hyunjin’s research this fast, right? Unless</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> ...Unless they confirmed it with someone who could know that it’s fake...</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No... That couldn’t be. Hyunjin wouldn’t confirm that, right? He wouldn’t. He has spent so long protecting his research. He could just lie and no one would know. Unless they are torturing him?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin shivered at that thought and he squeezed his eyes even more shut as he willed those thoughts away. His friends weren’t an option either, because why keep them apart? They would have taken them here together with Seungmin, right? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe they were just disagreeing about what something meant in the notebook. Maybe it was just simple as that. He couldn’t do anything about whatever was going on so he just sighed and tuned it out mostly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t hear anything for god knows how long after that and he thought he had dozed off, because when he regained consciousness he felt even more clammy and shaky than before. There were wet spots on his pants from his sweat dripping down from his forehead and hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He raised his head with a soft groan, cracking his sore neck for a bit while keeping his eyes closed, because otherwise he would certainly die of vertigo or something. Then he let his head fall down again. It was silent. Too silent. He really wanted to get out of here and just </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> something. Eat. Sleep. Find his friends. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> other than sitting here and feeling awful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt himself dozing off again, or he was just beginning to hallucinate or getting delirious or whatever— either way, the fever he had was beginning to really mess with him now. Suddenly there was a sound. The door creaked open, but Seungmin didn’t look up. He was too tired and sick for that. He thought he heard a gasp, but it could just as well be a dream, because it sounded kilometers away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sudden shiver ran over Seungmin’s back. </span>
  <em>
    <span>...Footsteps…?</span>
  </em>
  <span> His breathing was somehow growing louder. Or was someone speaking to him…? He tried opening his eyes but </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> that was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea, his head immediately protested. He held his breath instead, but he still heard his shaky breathing—</span>
  <em>
    <span>wait…? someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>else’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>shaky breathing?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minnie? Can you hear me…?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no. Am I going to die? Or am I dreaming? I am hearing voices. I am hearing </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hyunjin’s</span>
  <em>
    <span> voice. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then Seungmin felt a small weight on his leg. A hand. “Oh my goodness. When is the last time you ate? They didn’t give you anything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That voice. Jesus, I have missed his voice. Why does he sound so sad, though? Is it because of me…? If this is a dream, please don’t let me wake up yet. Let me make him happy first.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait no. It is perfectly possible that Hyunjin is here. I may not be dreaming, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin suddenly realized. His breath hitched and he wanted to take Hyunjin’s hand, but his own were tied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course. Wait, I'll loosen those ties.” Hyunjin spoke softly and gently despite his shaking voice. Seungmin hadn’t even said anything, but Hyunjin had understood him. Seungmin let out a breath as the tight bounds on his wrists loosened. He was still tied to the chair, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H—Hyun—” His own voice sounded so weak and so foreign right now. Hyunjin softly hushed him. He lifted his head and blinked his eyes open slowly, because he wanted to see him. He needed to see Hyunjin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm sorry.” They both breathed out simultaneously and Hyunjin’s eyes widened as he let out a sad chuckle. Seungmin felt like crying from relief, finally seeing him after what was barely more than a week, but what felt like months. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>sorry?” Hyunjin caressed Seungmin’s leg lightly and then took a hand in his own. His touch was so warm to his cold and sweaty skin. “I am the one who kept so many secrets and probably worried you guys out of your minds, and put you in danger because of my past—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin squeezed his hand and Seungmin did his best to ignore the splitting headache and look at him. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Gosh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Minnie, what happened to you? Who did this? I'll get you some food—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, wait, I—” Seungmin gripped Hyunjin’s hand tightly—At least, as tightly as he could without passing out. This wasn't how it was supposed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was supposed to be helping Hyunjin, not the other way around. “Are you okay? Don't put yourself in danger for me. Please. I made a mistake, but—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm</span>
  </em>
  <span> okay. They can't hurt me too badly. You're not putting me in any danger.” Hyunjin brought his hands up to support Seungmin’s head, his fingers pushing softly against his jaw as he examined him with a worried expression, before he added in a whisper: “They can only hurt me through you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let out a whimper at those words and let his head sag down. Hyunjin caught him in his hands and dabbed some sweat away with his sleeves. “I'll be right back. And—They'll thank me. They need you, but not as much as I do.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin breathed in a way that made Seungmin think that he was going to say something else, but he didn’t, so Seungmin tried to raise his head again to look at him before he would leave again. Hyunjin quickly gave him a bit of a forced smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t—You can’t let them know that you care about me. Or that you need me more than they do. Don’t— I don’t want to be the reason that you—that everything you’ve done will have been in vain.” Seungmin stuttered a bit desperately. He couldn’t have his mistake ruin </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Hyunjin had been working for, that he had been working for, that he had Felix and Minho work for. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if that happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I— I’ve been trying not to do that. I don’t want them to have a reason to hurt you. I can’t— If I am the reason that they hurt you...” Hyunjin trailed off after he had assured Seungmin that he hadn’t let anyone know that he cared. He was already beginning to stand up, but he wasn't letting his cool hands leave Seungmin’s hot and sweaty face yet. “I’ll quickly get you some food now, okay? And if they catch me doing it, I’ll tell them they’re stupid for thinking that they can solve things on their own.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin leaned down and gave Seungmin a quick hug before he dashed out of the room. Seungmin was too late to stop him, he didn’t really want Hyunjin to get him food. It would definitely make them notice that Hyunjin cared about him. It was unfortunately not that hard to read Hyunjin’s mood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was one of the things Seungmin liked about Hyunjin, he was not afraid to feel and to show, but right now that trait didn’t really come in handy. There wasn’t anything he could do about that, though. It was incredibly frustrating, not being able to do anything useful, but he guessed that Hyunjin getting him food was the first step to actually feeling well enough to do anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He regretted not taking better care of himself, but, honestly, he also knew that he wouldn’t have done anything differently, even if someone told him to take it easy or eat something, because he was stubborn like that. And he had been so focused on finding Hyunjin, that had been his top priority. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Seungmin knew it, Hyunjin returned with two big plates filled with food, but Seungmin felt too bad to feel hungry. Hyunjin put down one of the plates on Seungmin’s lap and sat down in front of him, keeping the other plate on his own lap. “I brought some for myself as well. I thought maybe that would help with your appetite.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded weakly. Hyunjin began eating and Seungmin grabbed the utensils and slowly followed. He only now noticed that his own plate consisted mostly of plain rice, while Hyunjin’s plate showed a lot more variety. Hyunjin had probably noticed his fever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have a lot to tell you.” Hyunjin began slowly, his eyes flicking between his food and Seungmin’s face. He smiled a little when he saw that Seungmin was eating, but then he pressed his lips together. “But first I want to ask you… Did they… Uhm… Is it their fault that you’re like this? Did they keep you somewhere else first?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin didn’t know what Hyunjin would want to hear, but he guessed that he should just tell him the truth, because he was quite sure that he was sick because of his own negligence. “I’m pretty sure this is my own fault. I— I kind of… didn’t really sleep a lot last night—Or the night before? I have no idea what time it is— And, I…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He trailed off as he remembered the last meal he had. It was at Hyunjin’s parents’ house, with Jeongin. He had lost his appetite when Jeongin had entered and Yeji had pointed out his ‘unreasonable’ way of thinking. “I kind of had a fight with Jeongin and I lost my appetite while having breakfast and I haven’t eaten since, because I was busy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin was silent for a bit, looking at Seungmin with a worried look. “Busy with finding me…?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded guiltily. “I guess I overworked myself. I was— I just was so focused on the case that I forgot to take care of myself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Well— At least I don’t have to get mad that someone else caused this. Right?” Hyunjin chuckled emptily and took another bite of his food. Seungmin slowly kept going as well. He didn't have the mind nor the energy to say too much back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So… I don't know how much you found out already, but I saw that you got my message.” Hyunjin continued slowly and Seungmin felt a wave of panic wash over him—</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. His message was still in my notebook! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hyunjin let out a laugh. “At least, I don't assume you like to put toilet paper in your books for fun? They didn't look at it when it fell out, so…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let out a breath of relief, he didn't make another fatal mistake, luckily. “So… Did you tell them that that is your research?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I stayed quiet.” Hyunjin told him before giving him a somewhat hopeful look. “I assume this means that you understood my message and you found it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I needed a lot of help, though. I… I still do.” He whispered even more softly than he had been whispering until now. He was kind of surprised that Hyunjin still heard him, but he could tell by the way Hyunjin hummed softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's good, though, that you needed help. That's why you didn't have it, right? And that means that someone is looking for you right now, right?” Hyunjin spoke hopefully. His eyes were watery and he looked down at his plate of food. “I didn't mean to put you in danger, but I… I had to help you, when I heard your voice at the house. I had to give you a message.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin had so many questions to ask Hyunjin, but he didn't know where to start and which ones were important, so he stayed focused on trying to get himself to keep eating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right. And thank you. For doing that.” He murmured between bites. Without that clue he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere, probably. “I hope you didn’t get in trouble for toppling over that desk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin snickered softly and for some reason it made Seungmin’s heart swell. (Or was that a wave of nausea?) Hyunjin looked up at him again. “I got into a bit of trouble for that, but as I said, they can’t really hurt me directly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded, but he was still worried about that statement. “Why not? I mean— I’m not complaining. I’m glad you’re okay. It’s just that… Yeah, that guy Park Jinyoung that took me didn’t really seem to want to resort to violence…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He trailed off for a second, a sudden sting in his head making him whimper. He needed to catch his breath, so he closed his eyes, not wanting to see Hyunjin’s worried expression. He felt a hand on his knee again and then on his face. He shivered because of the relatively cold touch on his feverishly hot skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minnie… You’re burning up...” Hyunjin softly spoke as he gently patted his face and felt his forehead. Seungmin kept his eyes closed because he was afraid he was going to pass out if he saw Hyunjin right now. “I’m so worried about you. But… You said Park Jinyoung…?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y—Yeah, but, uhh… he wasn’t afraid to hit me because I wasn’t cooperating. Don’t they… Have they ever…?” Seungmin couldn’t say it. Hyunjin kept gently caressing his head and it was so nice, but if anyone would walk in right now, they wouldn't be able to convince them that Hyunjin didn't really care about Seungmin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, they've never hit me, like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>punched </span>
  </em>
  <span>me for real. You don't have to worry.” Hyunjin assured him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so the people who are behind this care about him…? That… doesn't exclude Jeongin nor his parents. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minnie, can you open your eyes? Are you okay?” Hyunjin was so close that Seungmin felt his breath on his skin and when he slowly blinked his eyes open he was met with Hyunjin’s glistening dark eyes. Seungmin placed his hands on Hyunjin’s and lowered them, taking them away from his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will be, just tell me what to do, in case I don't get to see you for a while after this.” He sighed. Hyunjin let out a breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Always thinking about what to do next, huh? You're right.” Hyunjin said, before he brought Seungmin’s hands to his lips and placed a kiss on them. Then he placed Seungmin’s utensils back in his hands and he sat down on the floor again. Seungmin felt his cheeks becoming even warmer than before. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don't think about your feelings for him. Also, let’s not pass out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just so that we're clear, the fact that this is all happening is totally my fault. I made a mistake and… it came back to bite me.” Hyunjin told him as he chewed on his lower lip. “I left a piece of my research behind and it was only a matter of time before someone would find it and figure out what it was and who it belonged to. They're now looking for it and I need… if you guys found it you need to come here and tell them that you have it and will publish it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let that all sink in for a second. That should be… not that hard, right? If he wasn't sick and tied to a chair, that was. He also had no way of contacting anyone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, who do we need to tell? Who is them?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Park Jinyoung? Jeongin? Mr and Mrs Hwang? Someone else? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uhh… I guess it would be easier to—” Hyunjin was cut off by the door slamming open. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No! Fuck! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>There </span>
  </em>
  <span>you are! We thought you were sleeping, Hyunjin.” A man said, his voice booming and loud compared to the hushed tones Seungmin and Hyunjin had been speaking in. It made Seungmin’s head hurt. “Why are you eating </span>
  <em>
    <span>here? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Why are you even eating?! It’s like two in the morning.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because I was kinda hungry. And you dumbasses forgot to feed the one person who can help you out and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>making sure everyone gets treated well and that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell you a thing he knows.” Hyunjin stood up and pointedly took a bite of his food. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? That’s why? Not because you happen to care about this guy?” One of the guys said and Seungmin recognized him to be Park Jinyoung. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Why would you </span>
  <em>
    <span>help</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, Hyunjin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> told you.” Hyunjin hissed softly as if he didn’t want Seungmin to hear him. “I don’t want him to give you any information, so I’m buttering him up a bit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the other guys sighed deeply. “We really shouldn’t leave you out of sight for too long, huh? You spoiled brat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you.” Hyunjin almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>spat</span>
  </em>
  <span> at those guys. This was the first time Seungmin saw Hyunjin like this, cursing and angry. He didn’t like it one bit, but he was glad that Hyunjin wasn’t taking any shit from his captors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, you are really lucky that I can’t punch you.” The same guy hissed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why? Why can’t they punch him? What would happen if they did? And who told them that they can’t do it?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin had been so close to knowing just a moment ago and he couldn’t seem to figure out what to do now. He really wanted to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys. I’m too tired for this. Let’s go to sleep and let the rest take over in getting Kim to help us figure out that stupid book.” Park Jinyoung began speaking again. “Hyunjin, you better go to sleep, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As if I’m going to let this happen.” Hyunjin protested, stepping closer to Jinyoung. “Why don’t you guys just fucking burn it and leave me alone.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you may have a copy and this may not even </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> the final version of your research, you prick.” Jinyoung snapped back. “We’re not doing this half-assed and you know it. We know you’re not stupid, even though you’re spoiled.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin was one of the least spoiled people Seungmin had ever met and </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span> that was just his bias, but he was at least a little confident that he knew the real Hyunjin, and the Hyunjin he knew wasn’t spoiled. He had the urge to correct that stupid Jinyoung, but he couldn’t give away that he cared about Hyunjin that much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And what makes you think I’m going to sleep, then?” Hyunjin kept being difficult and those guys weren’t having it. Seungmin was afraid what they were going to do if Hyunjin kept going, but one of the guys already gripped Hyunjin by his arm and dragged him out. Seungmin could just make out a </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘We’ll lock you in your fucking room, you brat! We're not letting you out of our sight again,’</span>
  </em>
  <span> as he was dragged out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin was left alone for a minute and he took the opportunity to eat some more, even though he wasn’t that hungry. He hoped he could take the opportunity to get some sleep as well, but soon another couple of guys entered the room to re-tie his hands behind his back and take him to another room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They went through a dark hall to get there and the room was a lot nicer compared to the empty and cold room where Seungmin had been earlier. There was a desk and more chairs and it looked kind of like an office. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where am I…? An abandoned office building or something?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ya, this guy looks awful. Are we going to get in trouble for that…?” A short gruffy guy asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, he’s just here to explain some things to us. I don’t think we’ll get in trouble if we hurt him, as long as we, you know… keep him alive.” A taller guy spoke and Seungmin shivered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh god, so they aren’t opposed to killing me when they’re done…? I… I’m sure I can convince them not to… I hope.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “And besides, it isn’t our fault he looks like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to explain anything to you.” Seungmin said in the most steady and intimidating way he could manage right now. The taller one of the two scoffed and Seungmin felt his courage vanish into thin air as the guy cracked his neck and knuckles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Well, we’ll see about that.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 15</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. As long as you’re okay now</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“So…? Is everyone okay? Are they all coming back?” Changbin inquired when Minho got back from his second private conversation with Felix of the night. </p><p>“Yeah, we’re even getting company.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Everyone goes home to try and continue their search for Hyunjin and Seungmin, featuring some more soft content.</p><p>Enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minho felt like his head was about to explode from too much thinking. Usually Seungmin would do most of the digesting of information for him, but Seungmin wasn’t <em> here </em> and Minho was tired and he was about to throw a tantrum, because, yes, Chan and Changbin were there with him and they probably hadn’t <em> thought </em> half as much as he had today, but Minho didn’t want to risk telling them too much and causing them to be in danger because of that.</p><p> </p><p>But, if he had understood it correctly, Felix had spoken to the girls who had approached Jeongin at the gas station, named Ryujin and Lia (<em> right? or did she want to be called Jisu? </em> ). Those girls previously worked at Hyunjin’s family’s company and Felix had figured that they had a grudge against the company because Ryujin was fired for <em> ‘looking into things too much’ </em> and she and her friend got a restraining order for trying to tell Yeji there was something wrong with the company. </p><p> </p><p>They didn’t have something personal against Hyunjin, and when Felix had offered them a chance to help him figure out what was up with the company, they had apparently eagerly agreed. Jisung was driving again and he, Felix and Jeongin were on their way to pick Minho (and maybe Chan and Changbin, too,) up, followed by Ryujin and Lia on their motorcycles. </p><p>Felix wanted to bring them home, so they could work and investigate more comfortably and Minho honestly didn’t object to going home and getting some sleep, but he was also worried about Seungmin. Felix had promised for the nth time that he wouldn’t tell anyone too much about Hyunjin’s research, so that Minho didn’t have to worry too much.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“So…? Is everyone okay? Are they all coming back?” Changbin inquired when Minho got back from his second private conversation with Felix of the night. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, we’re even getting company.” Minho sighed as he plopped down on the curb, twisting his phone around in his hand. He had hung up, because his phone’s battery was getting dangerously low from calling for that long, but soon he would be able to communicate with Felix again through the comm. He felt a hand on his shoulder and then Chan sat down next to him.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re tired, huh? Is there anything we can do for you? Or do you want to tell us what’s going on?” Chan rubbed along Minho’s back and Minho cracked his neck and stretched his arms. </p><p> </p><p>“Well… There are two girls coming along with them, who may be able to help Lix out with this recent clue we’ve found, so that’s great, but…” Minho trailed off. There was still a lot to worry about. This detective stuff was hard.</p><p> </p><p>“But you guys don’t know them?” Changbin tried to finish the sentence and Minho nodded. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, they worked for the company and they know Jeongin and Hyunjin— Jeongin sort of knows them through Yeji, but… I have no idea how much we can trust them.” He told them. “But Lix trusts them enough to want to take them home and work with them. He says he’ll be careful, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe we can help with keeping an eye on them? We can do that without knowing too much, right?” Chan suggested. “Because no matter what, we, and Jisung, are on your side and if you guys are short-handed, we can help.” </p><p> </p><p>That would be pretty helpful, yeah, because Minho was exhausted and he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to protect Felix. Felix and Chan were used to staying up late, but Minho wasn’t. <em> At least, Chan always used to stay up late at home. I have no idea how it is now. </em></p><p> </p><p>“That would be… helpful. Thanks.” Minho gave his friends a thankful smile. “Seungmin is also still… <em> you know </em>— Actually, I don’t even know what happened to him, but he’s gone, so we’re coming a bit short-handed.”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything you need, sir!” Changbin exclaimed proudly and Minho rolled his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“If you call me <em> ‘sir’ </em> one more time, though, I’ll kick you guys right out of the door!” He pointed a threatening finger at a laughing Changbin. Chan was laughing too, just like Jisung had been that time. <em> Sigh. They are all helpless! </em></p><p> </p><p>“So, you guys are sure you want to risk your jobs?” Minho asked, just to make sure. “You’re absolutely sure that you don’t want to continue making big bank here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, we’ll come with you and help. Family goes first.” Chan said determinedly. “Even though we may have not shown that very well during the past months, you guys are what’s most important to us. I know Changbin and Jisung think the same.” </p><p> </p><p>“We do.” Changbin nodded. Minho smiled. He knew that, but it was nice to hear. </p><p> </p><p>“I guess that means that I can tell you a bit about what’s going on…” Minho shrugged. If Chan and Changbin were planning on running away, then telling them about what was going on wouldn’t bring them in any more danger than they already were, Minho reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>And so he told them that they suspect that the company has something to do with Hyunjin’s disappearance and that Felix is trying to figure out what kind of dirt Hyunjin exactly has on the company. </p><p> </p><p>“Does the name Park Jinyoung ring a bell?” Minho asked, but Chan and Changbin shook their heads. Minho didn’t expect them to know much about the company, but it was always worth a shot. “I already asked you guys that, right? Sorry.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Sorry Minho!” </em> Felix suddenly sounded in Minho’s ear and Minho jumped three meters up into the air, letting out a yelp. <em> “I’m sorry about startling you again too! But I’m also sorry because I forgot we were in range again!”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Felix, Chan and Changbin all three seemed to be caught in a laughing fit while Minho calmed down from being startled. <em> “There’s really no subtle way to warn you that I’m going to speak, huh?”  </em></p><p> </p><p>“No, there isn’t. Doesn’t mean I don’t hate it.” Minho grumbled softly. </p><p> </p><p><em> “Sorry, sorry. But </em> — <em> Everything’s okay over here. I could tell that talking to you guys did Jisungie good. He’s driving well.” </em> Felix said and Minho felt himself become warm as a small smile grew on his face. He heard Jisung let out an embarrassed sound in the background and he giggled. He wished that Chan and Changbin could hear it as well, but he supposed it was up to him to tell them. <em> “I think we’ll be there soon.” </em></p><p> </p><p>“That’s good. I’m glad.” Minho said. “Chan and Changbin are coming home with us by the way, so, if Jisung can hear me: You can come with us as well.” </p><p> </p><p><em> “I will!” </em>Jisung exclaimed, his voice cracking in the middle. It was kind of cute. </p><p> </p><p>“I really want to sleep, so are you okay with Channie coming with you to… keep an eye on you guys?” Minho started, a little more softly, just because he wasn’t sure what they were going to do with Jeongin. “I told Chan and Changbin the gist of things earlier, so they kind of know what’s going on. And— You can of course always wake me up if there’s something urgent. Or if you need my help in general.” </p><p> </p><p><em> “Yeah, that’s fine. You deserve some sleep. I think Jisung will want to rest some too, later.” </em>Felix assured him. Then Minho heard some soft speaking in the background again, so he kept quiet for a bit. He heard Felix hum and then make a thinking noise.</p><p> </p><p><em> “Of course. I’ll discuss it with Minho for a sec, okay?” </em> Felix said softly. Then Felix turned his attention to Minho again. <em> “Jeongin is wondering if he can help in any way? I’m also thinking of who can stay where, ‘cause I’m assuming that I’m going to my home with Ryujin and Lia and Channie and that you’re going to your apartment to sleep.”  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, yeah. Anyone else who wants to sleep is free to come to my place as well, I think. I— I don’t know how we can let Jeongin help us, though. Maybe he can just be our stake out at the Hwang residence?” Minho suggested and Felix hummed in thought. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Yeah, I’ll ask him to stay in touch. I can give him the comm, because last time his phone was supposedly hacked, right?”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Minho had totally forgotten about that, but of course Felix would remember everything that had to do with technology. Either way, it was for the best that they would keep Jeongin as much out of the loop as possible, Minho guessed. “That’s fine.” </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>It didn’t take too long before a car, followed by two motorcycles arrived where Minho, Chan and Changbin were sitting under a streetlight a while away from the residence. Jisung immediately ran out of the car and jumped into Chan, Minho and Changbin’s arms, hugging them tightly. Minho was so glad that he was okay. He was also glad that he probably couldn’t see how tired and bruised the younger probably was in the faint light of the streetlight.</p><p> </p><p>Jeongin also stepped out of the car and Minho heard the faint voice of Felix ask him if he was okay with walking the last bit, because otherwise he could drive him. Jeongin assured them that he was okay and that he could yell very loudly in case something happened, or turn on the communication device. The boy then said goodbye to everyone and wished them good luck with investigating.</p><p> </p><p>He sounded a little sad and Minho felt his stomach churn, but there wasn’t really anything he could do for him right now. Jeongin didn’t work for the company, so he probably wouldn’t be the best to ask for help concerning the company without him figuring out exactly how much they knew and what not. </p><p> </p><p>After Jeongin left, Ryujin and Lia introduced themselves to Minho, Chan and Changbin, before they all went to leave as well. Felix hurriedly made room on the backseat for two others to sit, the others being Minho and Jisung, as Changbin offered to drive. Minho was thankful, because he was tired.</p><p>Before he would let himself rest, he first told Jisung what he had told Chan and Changbin as well, and he asked everyone what they wanted to do when they got home, stay with Felix or sleep.</p><p> </p><p>“I— I think I want to go to sleep too. I’m still a little shaken from today.” Jisung chewed on his lip a bit guiltily and Minho wriggled his arm around the younger’s waist before laying his head on his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s okay. I could use some company.” He said softly. Jisung laid his soft cheek on Minho’s head, making Minho smile a little. “What about you, Binnie?” </p><p> </p><p>“Uhh… I’m not that tired, so I’ll keep Chan some company while Felix and the girls investigate.” Changbin decided. “That way I can see Lixie for a little longer, ‘cause, you know, Chan and I haven’t been able to talk to him properly yet, even though he’ll be working.”</p><p> </p><p>“Aw, Binnie. Sorry we had to see each other again in a situation like this.” Felix patted Chan and Changbin on their shoulders gently.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing we can do about that.” Chan shrugged. “We’re glad to see you, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too.” </p><p> </p><p>Minho then tuned everything other than Jisung and Felix’s breathing out and closed his eyes. He could probably fall asleep in an instant if he really wanted, but his mind was still racing and telling him that he couldn’t fall asleep as long as he didn’t know what happened to Seungmin and that he should be working to find him right now. He tried to tell himself that he didn’t know <em> how </em>, but his body wouldn’t listen.</p><p> </p><p>Jisung shifted a little and Minho removed his arm from Jisung’s waist to give him some space. Jisung took the opportunity to take Minho’s hand and intertwine their fingers before settling down with his cheek on Minho’s head again. Minho heard Felix ask if they had enough space and Jisung hummed in response, the hum vibrating through Minho’s body and he felt himself relax at the feeling. At least he had four of his friends still with him. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Before he knew it—maybe he had managed to fall asleep for a bit after all—they arrived in their good old familiar and boring town. Minho began to understand why Hyunjin had moved here and what was so appealing about a town where nothing really happened. Chan gasped a little. “Woah, it's been a while.” </p><p> </p><p>It certainly had been a while, and things still weren't ideal, but hopefully soon things would get better. </p><p> </p><p>“Wow, what a cute small town.” Lia remarked as she and Ryujin parked their motorcycles. Felix gathered his stuff and motioned them to come with him after wishing Jisung and Minho a good night. He, Ryujin, Lia, Chan and Changbin left and Minho took Jisung to his apartment. </p><p> </p><p>“I… I didn’t have time to clean the apartment fully, so don’t pay too much attention to that.” Minho warned Jisung as he turned his key into the lock, not that Jisung would mind. Jisung hummed in response.</p><p> </p><p>“Are your cats here?” The younger asked as he shuffled his shoes off and looked around the apartment curiously. Minho first made sure that his phone was charging before he went back to Jisung.</p><p> </p><p>“No, they’re at my parents’ place. I didn’t want to leave them alone for too long in my messy apartment. And this was kind of a crime scene for a while.” Minho took Jisung by the hand and dragged him to the bathroom so they could wash up before sleeping. And Minho wanted to see if he had to tend to Jisung’s wounds or something. </p><p> </p><p>He turned on the light in his bathroom and turned to Jisung. “C’mere, lemme see your face.” </p><p> </p><p>He took Jisung by the shoulders and turned him so that they were facing each other. He then gently cupped Jisung’s jaw and angled his face to examine it. There was only a faint bruise on his cheek as far as his face was concerned, but as Minho held Jisung’s hands he noticed his heavily bruised wrists and he grimaced. </p><p> </p><p>He softly dragged his thumb along the discoloured skin and Jisung winced even though Minho was careful not to use too much pressure. “Sorry. I’ll get some ointment to put on your bruises. Are there more?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, just my cheek because they grabbed my face to shut me up and my wrists because… they were tied, like, unnecessarily tight.” Jisung explained as he rolled up his sleeves, discovering a couple of more bruises. “Oh. There’s more. Uhh— They were also pretty rough while tying me up.” </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, okay! I get it. I don’t— I don’t really want to imagine it.” Minho shivered as he grabbed some soothing ointment from one of the cabinets in his bathroom. He turned to Jisung and looked at him. “As long as you’re okay now.” </p><p> </p><p>“I am.” </p><p> </p><p>Minho gently rubbed the ointment into Jisung’s skin, making sure to not hurt the boy in the process. Jisung actually looked like he was about to fall asleep rather than that he was hurt. Minho smiled a little. He wondered if he should say something about… about <em> them </em>. But maybe not. There was too much going on and both he and Jisung weren’t in the best of moods right now.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t fall asleep yet, ‘Sungie.” He said as he straightened Jisung’s head and put the leftovers of the ointment onto the one cheek that had the bruise and left a small kiss on the other.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re being so soft and gentle, though. It makes me sleepy.” Jisung sighed. He looked pretty peaceful like that and it filled Minho with warmth. It wasn’t necessarily romantic, but it just felt so nice and warm, sitting in his small bathroom together and taking care of each other. It made Minho want to just pick Jisung up and cuddle him until they’d fall asleep. He’d regret it in the morning if he didn’t wash up a little, though, so he did and he encouraged Jisung to do the same.</p><p> </p><p>After washing up, Minho tossed Jisung a comfortable shirt and some sweatpants for him to wear to bed and Jisung seemed happy to change out of his clothes. Minho noticed only then that he was wearing something that looked like a sort of uniform. It was way fancier than what Minho knew Jisung liked to wear usually, even though the clothes had become dirty. It was also way more fitted than what Jisung usually wore. </p><p> </p><p>They changed their clothes and after that they finally laid down in bed. They automatically gravitated towards each other, Minho wrapping an arm around Jisung’s chest and tucking his face in the crook of Jisung’s neck so that they were only taking up a small part of Minho’s bed. Jisung ran his hand through Minho’s hair soothingly. </p><p> </p><p>“Are <em> you </em> okay, Minho?” Jisung whispered as he held him a little tighter. “It must be hard, having two of your friends disappear from right under your nose.”</p><p> </p><p>Minho whimpered a little at the mention of what had happened today with Seungmin and earlier with Hyunjin. Jisung softly apologized, but Minho was actually a little glad that he had brought it up, because he probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep without talking about it. </p><p> </p><p>“No, uhm… I— I am <em> really </em> worried about Seungmin.” Minho started, his voice barely above a whisper. “I mean, I am incredibly worried about Hyunjin too, but I need Seungmin to find him. And— Seungmin… He has been working non stop on the case. He needed a break, honestly, he was overworking himself already, but now he’s been taken and I feel like it’s my fault.”</p><p> </p><p>It was quiet as Jisung kept absentmindedly running his hand through Minho’s hair. The steady rise and fall of the younger’s chest already soothed Minho, but the hand kept him grounded. After a while Jisung spoke up. “I understand how you’re feeling, but you can’t overwork <em> yourself </em> while trying to find them. If you break yourself while working you may ruin yourself before you’ve found them. And— Seungminnie is smart. He’ll be resilient.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I know, but… He— He has a weak spot for Hyunjin, so if he is somehow involved and Seungmin is tired… I don’t know.” Minho let out a sigh. It was hard as ever, describing how he felt, but he was sure Jisung understood. He always did. </p><p> </p><p>“A weak spot? Seungminnie?” He repeated. “I— I’ll have to ask about that later, but, there’s really nothing you can do right now other than rest so you can give it your all when you’re needed.” </p><p> </p><p>Jisung placed a kiss on the top of Minho’s head after he was done speaking and he was right. He was absolutely right and Minho already knew that there was nothing he could do, but hearing it from someone else just made it feel more valid. He hoisted himself up a bit so that he could reach Jisung’s lips and give him a proper thank you kiss.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, ‘Sung.” He said. “You’re right.”</p><p> </p><p>Jisung smirked, but Minho was sure that his cheeks were dusted pink right now even though he couldn’t see them. The younger wiggled his eyebrows at him. “Do you want to spill the tea about that weak spot now?” </p><p> </p><p>Minho let out a laugh and wrapped his arms around Jisung to flip their positions and hold Jisung closely on top of him. He grinned up at Jisung. “We should really go to sleep, though. I thought you were tired.”</p><p> </p><p>“I am, but you don’t have to make it long. Just tell me if Seungminnie has a weak spot for Hyunjin like you have a weak spot for me or if it’s different.” Jisung teased him, rubbing their noses together and making Minho giggle tiredly. “Or are they, like, <em> together </em> or something. Like we are sort of together but we haven’t said anything because of the situation and stuff and— <em> actually </em> I’m totally assuming that you want to be together with me right now, but we haven’t—”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re rambling, sweetie.” Minho cut him off before he placed another kiss on his forehead and on the tip of his nose. “It’s ruining our sleepy romance. Seungmin has feelings for Hyunjin and he actually wrote a love letter to him. He was planning to tell Hyunjin that it was him the day that Hyunjin disappeared.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry.” Jisung chuckled sheepishly. “And— Wow. I didn’t know Minnie took inspiration from me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know you’re kidding, but he actually did take inspiration from you.” Minho snickered as he softly caressed his friend’s round and unscatched cheek. Jisung’s eyes lit up and a satisfied smile grew on his face. <em> ‘I knew my letters were good for something’, </em> Jisung’s face said. </p><p> </p><p><em> ‘Of course they were good for something. I enjoyed them a lot’, </em>Minho communicated back to him. Or at least he tried to do so, he was sort of distracted by Jisung’s pretty face right now. They both were entranced by each other, but Jisung broke the spell when he rolled off of Minho and laid on his side so that he was facing the older.</p><p> </p><p>Minho turned so that he could look at Jisung too and Jisung tangled their legs together under the covers before he inched a little closer, their noses and fingers touching because of their proximity. Minho played a little with Jisung’s fingers absentmindedly as he felt his eyelids become heavy. They were both tired, but Minho couldn’t get tired of looking at Jisung and being this close to him. </p><p> </p><p>Jisung’s lips parted a bit as if he wanted to say something, but then he closed them and he swallowed. Minho softly nudged him, encouraging him to speak.</p><p> </p><p>“I know we’re supposed to go to sleep, and I’m really about to fall asleep, but… Can I kiss you one more time?” He asked softly, his lidded eyes moving up and down Minho’s face. Minho licked his lips and nodded in response.</p><p> </p><p>“Anytime.” He whispered before tilting his head a bit, causing their lips to brush against each other already as their eyes fluttered shut. He felt Jisung’s fingers on his jaw, guiding him into a more proper kiss. Minho all but sighed into the kiss, relishing the warmth he felt from being so closely huddled with Jisung and kissing his soft lips.</p><p> </p><p>He wrapped an arm around Jisung’s chest and pulled him closer and Jisung responded by wrapping his arm around Minho’s neck, tangling his fingers into Minho’s hair, and making space for their chests to touch. Minho felt Jisung shiver a little as his hand found the hem of Jisung’s shirt and he sneaked his fingers under the fabric, rubbing his hand along the soft skin of the younger's back. Jisung tightened his grip in Minho’s hair and Minho felt electricity run through his body.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly he was wide awake, so he gasped out of the kiss. He took a second to calm down from the rush of feelings he had just gotten, before he placed a quick kiss on Jisung’s nose, to signal that they should probably stop, but that he had liked it. “Okay. We should really go to sleep now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.” Jisung spoke breathily, his eyes turning to crescents as he smiled. “Good idea.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good night, ‘Sungie.” Minho quickly pecked Jisung’s lips, just for good measure. (And because, maybe, just maybe, he couldn’t get enough of those soft lips.)</p><p> </p><p>“Good night, Minho.” Jisung smiled again before turning his back to Minho, but he grabbed Minho’s arm and pulled it over him so that the older was spooning him. Minho closed his eyes with a small smile on his face and let himself get lulled to sleep, feeling warm and content. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> End of chapter 16 </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed some more soft content before the investigation continues</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. It’s the perfect place to hide someone you don’t want found</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It was all coming back to him now, but the important thing was that his phone was ringing. He quickly scrambled up to retrieve it from the charger and pick up. Jisung was still fast asleep and showed no sign of waking up soon, so Minho didn’t have to worry about him too much right now.</p><p>“Hello?” Minho answered the phone.</p><p>“Minho!” Felix exclaimed and Minho blinked from the loud greeting. Had Felix slept at all? Probably not. “We… uhh, we have made progress!"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Felix, Lia and Ryujin have made progress over night and everyone continues the investigation! They may have found where Hyunjin and/or Seungmin could be...?</p><p>TW / CW for violence in this chapter ! (No graphic descriptions or blood, though)</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Ring… ring…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh…?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ring… ring...</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait…!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho shot up, almost throwing Jisung off of the bed in the process— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right, Jisung.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was all coming back to him now, but the important thing was that his phone was ringing. He quickly scrambled up to retrieve it from the charger and pick up. Jisung was still fast asleep and showed no sign of waking up soon, so Minho didn’t have to worry about him too much right now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello?” Minho answered the phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Minho!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix exclaimed and Minho blinked from the loud greeting. Had Felix slept at all? Probably not. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“We… uhh, we have made progress! Did you sleep well?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great! That’s good… Uhm. Yeah, I slept well. Jisung’s still sleeping.” Minho began. “So… What kind of progress? Do you need me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Right!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix obviously has had too much energy drink. Or coffee. Or sugar. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“We have no idea what kind of role Park Jinyoung plays in all of this, Ryujin and Lia don’t know the intern guy, but they do know the senior guy and he’s kinda weird but we’re not sure how he specifically connects to this.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho hummed in understanding, but this didn’t sound like the progress Felix had been talking about yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So then we gave up on that and then we were wondering what to do, because Ryujin and Lia confirmed that everything Hyunjin had written in his research either was or seemed legit, so there was no use in confirming that any further.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix continued. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“So we were wondering if we could figure out </span>
  </em>
  <span>where</span>
  <em>
    <span> they could be hiding, you know, uhh, </span>
  </em>
  <span>people</span>
  <em>
    <span>, and that company has a </span>
  </em>
  <span>lot </span>
  <em>
    <span>of property, like</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix.” Minho stopped him. “Please get to the point.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Good idea! Sorry!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>His friend chuckled awkwardly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“The point is that we found this abandoned office building that they have sold, but the new owner has abandoned it, because the city was just starting the renovation of that neighbourhood and so now that part is, like, in ruins and they’re building houses and stuff</span>
  </em>
  <span>— </span>
  <em>
    <span>the actual </span>
  </em>
  <span>point</span>
  <em>
    <span> is that it’s the perfect place to hide someone you don’t want found.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wow.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That… actually sounded pretty promising. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We’ve found more candidates, but this one stands out.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix added. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Ryujin knows where it is.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great. I’ll go with her and check it out.” Minho decided, eyeing a sleeping Jisung. He should probably wake him up and tell him what was going on too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re… You’re not going alone, right? I mean, I’ll give you a comm again, but… Are you sure you don’t want others to come with you?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix brought up some good points. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What about a plan? What are you guys gonna do if you actually find someone?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we can come up with a plan right now, or on the way… And maybe some backup will be nice, but I don’t want to endanger more people than necessary.” Minho moved to the bed to softly try to shake Jisung awake, but if Jisung hadn’t woken up from almost being thrown off the bed, gentle shaking surely wouldn’t do the job either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Right, because maybe you want an excuse as to why you guys are there in case they find you guys.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho hummed again. That would be a good idea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He held the phone away from his ear for a second to shake Jisung a little harder, but when that didn’t work, he resorted to giving him a couple of kisses on his face. Just because he could. But as he should have expected, it was those kisses that woke Jisung up, the younger groaning softly as his eyes blinked open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Sungshine.” Minho greeted him with a fond smile. Jisung smiled back, but the moment was ruined by Felix letting out a squeal through the phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Good morning Jisung~~!!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Their friend yelled loudly enough for Jisung to hear clearly. They both laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good morning. I would ask how you've slept, but I don't think you did.” Jisung said as Minho held his phone near the boy's head so that he didn't have to yell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I didn't. But it's fine! I'm fine.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix snickered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Well, I'll see you later, I guess.” Jisung looked up at Minho, his face telling him that he could go on with the call. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too. We'll stop by and talk more, okay?” Minho proposed and Felix agreed, so he hung up and went over to Jisung to pull him out of bed and tell him what Felix had told him while tossing him some of his more tightly fitted clothes, because those would be more Jisung’s size. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think Chan or Changbin want a change of clothes too?” Minho wondered out loud as he rummaged through his closet. Jisung shrugged. “You know what, I'll text Lixie and I'll bring some just in case. Let's go.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho quickly gathered some clothes before they left to go to Felix’s apartment, hands interlocked, and to meet up with the rest to talk about their plans— about what to do next. They were met with a sleeping Changbin, while the rest was awake. Especially Felix looked like he hadn’t slept at all, but the rest looked better.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys look way better than yesterday! I’m glad.” Chan remarked with a smile. Minho hoped that Chan had slept a little as well, and seeing that his eyes were still a little small, he guessed that he did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, what’s the plan? Who’s coming with me to the construction site?” Ryujin clapped her hands together before pointing a finger to Minho. “You, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho nodded as Ryujin flicked her eyes down at Minho and Jisung’s linked hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is he coming too?” She asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me?” Jisung pointed at himself and opened his mouth to speak when suddenly something sounded from Felix’s laptop. Felix apologized and put on his headphones before he motioned Jisung to speak. “Uhh… I don’t know.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Ryujin shrugged and looked around the room for anyone else to speak up. Felix held his hand up as he was still listening to something on his laptop. Then he turned around in his chair and faced the rest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh— Jeongin just offered to go with you guys, maybe the excuse could have something to do with him? He’s thinking about one.” He said. That could be a good idea. “I will stay here, because I’m not really an out-on-the-field guy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It might be good to have just one more person to go with you guys.” Chan suggested. “So, either I or Jisung can go, because Binnie has mostly stayed up tonight.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho turned to Jisung, giving him a curious look that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Are you up for it?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Jisung’s lips formed a pout in thought. “Chan, did you sleep enough?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, don’t worry about that.” Chan answered. “You can decide.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay… ‘Cause, like, of course I wanna help, and I wanna know if you guys are safe, but I’m afraid I’ll only stand in the way if I come.” Jisung explained, squeezing Minho’s hand a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, Jeongin suggests that you can use the excuse that he has been sent by his parents to check out the site for a potential new office building.” Felix then announced. That sounded like a pretty good plan. Minho didn't really want to suspect Jeongin too much right now, they could use his help and they hadn't found anything against him in a while. And besides, it would be two against two at worst. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unless of course Jeongin and Ryujin had people waiting at that construction site to kill them or something, but that was really the worst case scenario, because Jeongin didn't sound like he was planning on killing them when he asked him and Felix to tell Seungmin that he was sorry. But at least Felix would know where they were and would follow them, even in the worst case scenario. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Jeongin is on his way, but if you guys can pick him up halfway it'll save time. I'll keep in touch with both of you and keep you guys updated.” Felix said as he handed Minho the familiar communication device again. “I didn't have time to make more of these so please stay close to either Jeongin or Minho.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix made sure everything was working properly before he sent Ryujin, Chan and Minho off. They woke Changbin up to say goodbye and gave everyone a hug before the three of them left, Chan and Minho in Minho's car and Ryujin on her motorcycle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They picked Jeongin up at the place Felix told them that Jeongin always met Hyunjin when he would visit him in their tiny town. When Jeongin got in the car he eyed Minho and Chan curiously. </span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Still no Seungmin?” He asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right. He doesn’t know.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Is he okay? Or… is he just mad at me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh… No. Uhm, he’s…” Minho began, trying to think of an excuse. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, you know what? Fuck it. I’m just gonna tell him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “He’s missing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin’s eyes went wide and he became pale. “R—Really?” He sputtered. “What happened? The—Are—Did the same guys take him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know. The only thing we know is that the last thing he sent us was </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Do we know a Park Jinyoung?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Minho said, but Jeongin didn’t seem to recognize the name. “We hope that we either find Hyunjin or Seungmin or both at that construction site.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin nodded, his face contracted into a scowl. The rest of the trip went on in relative silence and soon Ryujin signaled them that they were almost there. They parked the car and motorcycle a minute or two away on foot from the exact place of the building and went to look around a bit first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The whole area was under construction and abandoned. There were a couple of workers scattered around, but they were either drinking coffee or working on other things than the office building. It was really the perfect place to hide people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho felt nervous, because they really didn’t have a plan. “Should we… split up? Cover more ground?” He suggested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Good idea. I’ll go with Jeongin and you two go together?” Ryujin added before elbowing Jeongin. “Sorry dude, you’re stuck with me. Haha!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin snorted, he didn’t seem to mind it very much. Minho wondered for a second if it was a good idea to let the two people who he wasn’t sure he could trust roam around freely, but he guessed that Felix could listen in on them and notify them if something was off. It would maybe be even more dangerous to split him and Chan up in that case, because at least they could keep an eye on each other, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We'll take the other side of the building!” Ryujin said and before Minho could even protest, she was already dragging Jeongin along to somewhere else, so Minho guessed that he had to accept. Chan put a hand on Minho’s arm and gave him a look that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>'it'll be okay'</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Minho tried to smile back, but he was just nervous, he had no idea if what they were doing was right and he was so thankful that he had Chan and Felix on his side right now, but he also felt a little burdened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook the thoughts away, there was no time to dwell on his insecurities right now. He should just </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Let's take a look around and try to stay a little hidden. If someone finds us we tell them that we're here with Mr. Yang.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho and Chan walked around the building, looking for a way in. Ryujin and Jeongin were out of sight and Minho wondered if they were already inside. Felix was awfully quiet, but he guessed that it made sense for no one to speak much if they were trying to be sneaky. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He also wondered if there was only one entrance, and if so, which </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘side of the building’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ryujin had meant and which side Minho and Chan were supposed to take. Eventually Chan spotted a door on the side of the building they had initially approached, so Minho guessed that they could take that one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho’s heart was pounding harshly in his chest as they searched the building, anxious that someone would notice them before they would notice that there was someone in the building. Suddenly Chan touched him and Minho almost fell over from being frightened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry! I was just trying to get your attention.” Chan quickly pulled his hand back before he awkwardly chuckled and scratched his neck. “You’re really nervous, huh?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho pressed his lips together and nodded. “I just don’t know what to expect. And… I feel kind of responsible for keeping everyone safe.” He whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get it. But I’m here with you. I hope I can carry some of the burden for you.” Chan assured him and Minho felt a little better. Only a little, though, and Chan seemed to know that, so he gave him an apologetic smile before they continued searching the building. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>After a minute or so, they heard footsteps. Well— Minho heard it, Chan didn’t seem to hear it, so Minho pulled the older around the nearest corner and shushed him. They both held their breaths as they listened to careful footsteps nearing the place where they were standing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho clenched his fists in preparation, in case he had to punch someone or something. His heart was pounding in his ears and he almost couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore. He was so ready to punch whoever would come around the corner but when a figure appeared the first thing his brain supplied his body was </span>
  <em>
    <span>scream</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It all went really fast— A figure appeared, Minho started yelling— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh there are </span>
  </em>
  <span>two</span>
  <em>
    <span> people</span>
  </em>
  <span>— Chan dashed forward and someone else started yelling as well and then Chan stumbled back with a groan and—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What’s going on?!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix exclaimed in between.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh I’m sorry— Stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>yelling! </span>
  </em>
  <span>It’s us!” A girl yelled— Ryujin. Minho immediately shut his mouth. “What if there are others here? Jesus!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho’s brain finally processed that the two figures were actually Ryujin and Jeongin and— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Woah. We handled that really well, huh?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Chan was rubbing his cheek and Ryujin apologized to him again, apparently she had hit him accidentally. Minho investigated Chan’s face a little too, but it didn’t look too bad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, but Minho started yelling and I was scared out of my mind.” Jeongin sighed. “And, I thought we already established that this building is disappointingly empty.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but maybe they were just hiding from us or some shit.” Ryujin hissed and Minho felt his stomach drop. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Empty?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Or maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> found something?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope.” Minho said. “We haven’t heard anything before we stumbled upon you guys.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ve found nothing?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix inquired. It stayed silent, the four of them all scowling. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Is this the only building?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho frowned. Was it? Well, of course this wasn’t the only building still left, but he wasn’t sure if this was the only building that was part of the abandoned office building that the Hwang’s company used to own. Ryujin would know that better, so he turned to her. She was thinking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know…? I don’t remember exactly. I only came here, but I did notice another small building near this one.” Ryujin said eventually. “We could check that one out.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s do that.” Chan agreed. “And… Uhh, we’ll have to work on how we’re handling confrontations, I think.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Jeongin fidgeted with his ear in embarrassment and Minho looked down with a sheepish smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No screaming. I can do that.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They did a quick run through of the building before officially rendering the building empty and moving on to the small building outside. It was only two stories, unlike the other building, so they should be done quickly in case this building was also empty. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think we’ll have to split up right away.” Minho said. He thought that would help his nerves a little. “Let’s split up when necessary.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest agreed and they carefully approached the entrance. They couldn’t really see anything from outside, but then again, that made perfect sense. Inside, though, Minho immediately heard muffled sounds coming from above them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There's someone upstairs.” Minho warned the rest and they stopped walking to listen. Jeongin let out a soft whimper and Minho glanced in his direction. He was probably trying to hide his fear, but Minho could still tell how the younger felt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This boy isn't behind all this, he can't be. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, let's go check it out.” Ryujin motioned them to start walking again. “Let's try not to scream if it’s unnecessary.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Be careful.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything seemed loud as they were trying to keep quiet. Minho cursed the bare concrete floors of this building for not muffling their footsteps, but he was probably overreacting. They eventually reached a stairwell and stopped, exchanging looks that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>'who's going first?'</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The stairs made a turn, so they couldn't see what was at the top from downstairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They heard footsteps above them and soft chatter. They could really use a plan, but none of them were experienced with this kind of thing. Chan then pointed to himself and mouthed something like </span>
  <em>
    <span>'I'll check it out'</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He motioned the rest to stay out of sight and tiptoed up the stairs. Minho held his breath in anticipation. He peeked around the corner to see Chan crane his neck to see what was at the top, slowly ascending another step to see better. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly Chan jumped and backed away, hiding from whatever was up there with wide eyes. Minho hadn't heard anything, though. Ryujin waved her arms around, silently asking Chan what was going on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chan held up two fingers and pointed upstairs, mouthing something that looked like </span>
  <em>
    <span>'two people very close to the top'</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Minho motioned him to come down, they really needed a plan now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need a plan.” He whispered as they distanced themselves a little from the stairway. He didn't feel confident about this at </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but they couldn’t let this slide, there were people here, so there was a chance to find Seungmin or Hyunjin and maybe even both. He looked around at the rest, but they seemed as lost about what to do as he was. They all didn't know what to expect. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, we could maybe use my excuse…?” Jeongin hesitantly suggested, raising his eyebrows at the rest as if to ask them if they were okay with that. Or if they even remembered what it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, I can go up there— with one of you, preferably— and pretend my parents sent me to check this place out for potential buying.” He explained. Minho wondered if it was a good idea to send Jeongin up when he was scared, but he honestly didn't know what else to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'll go with you.” Chan was the first one to speak up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chan, you don't—” Minho tried protesting, he felt like he should go up, but Chan stopped him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They might recognize one of you guys.” He said. “They might recognize me too, but at least I work for the Hwang family. Even though this is definitely not in my job description.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, whatever. Sounds like a plan.” Ryujin agreed and raised an eyebrow at Minho. “You okay with everything?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho guessed he didn't have a better idea, so he nodded. “We'll back you up, of course. Be careful.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, let's plan this a bit.” Jeongin said, his expression turning more determined. He huddled with Chan to discuss how they were going to do this and after a minute or so they backed away from the stairway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So yeah, you can't really see what it all is going to look like, right? I think we should wait to invest until the rest is a little more finished.” Jeongin started speaking at a normal volume as he and Chan made their way over to the stairs. Minho thought he heard voices upstairs now. “I still want to look at everything, though. Let's see what's upstairs.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho held his breath as Jeongin and Chan ascended the stairs and walked out of sight. He tried to peek around the corner but he couldn't see them anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh? Good morning, I didn't know there were people here today.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho could just hear Jeongin say. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Who are you?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>An unfamiliar voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho could barely hear Jeongin explain what he was doing here and he swallowed nervously. He flicked his eyes to Ryujin, who was listening closely as well. Minho remembered that Felix could hear Jeongin and that was a big relief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...building already in use?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah, we’re working on a project here…” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What a stupid excuse, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that guy doesn’t sound like he knows what he’s saying and I can’t even hear him well.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho then heard them raise their voices a little, one guy was obviously trying to get Jeongin and Chan to leave, but Chan was insisting that they would look around real quick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho jolted when he suddenly heard a muffled scream— not from Jeongin or Chan, thank goodness— and he shared a wide eyed look with Ryujin. She pointed up, her expression questioning, silently asking him if they should go up. Minho held his hand up to signal her to wait a little.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What’s going on?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin’s voice was loud and kind of intimidating— or was he scared? It was good that Minho couldn’t tell the difference, because maybe that meant that those guys couldn’t either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nothing, as I said</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The guy was cut off by another scream, but this wasn’t just a scream, someone was actually yelling something, but Minho couldn’t hear </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hyunjin?!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin exclaimed and by the sound of footsteps rushing away, he started running. Incoherent yelling began and maybe that was a sign that Minho and Ryujin should </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so he started dashing up the stairs, taking two steps at a time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was met with the sight of Jeongin struggling to escape the harsh hold of a guy near a hallway. Chan tried to help him, but suddenly more people appeared. Three more to be exact, so it was four against four. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Those are… okay odds. Depending on their fighting abilities. And Ryujin’s fighting abilities. And if they have weapons. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed those guys’ first priority was stopping Jeongin from going into that hallway, because they all went straight to him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Does that mean Hyunjin is really there?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho hurried over to the younger just as he </span>
  <em>
    <span>launched</span>
  </em>
  <span> one of the guys off of him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damn, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho thought as he took the opportunity to drag the guy away from Jeongin. It soon became a mess of eight people shoving and trying to drag each other away, none of them afraid to play dirty and shove shoes in each other’s faces or bite each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho let out a groan as his head was shoved to the ground, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> needed to get those guys away from Jeongin for long enough so that he could check out whatever (or </span>
  <em>
    <span>whoever</span>
  </em>
  <span>) it was that they were hiding in that hallway, but it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard</span>
  </em>
  <span>, their strength was all pretty equal. Jeongin was surprisingly strong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho had to stop himself from whooping as Chan actually managed to knock someone out with the help of Jeongin, but it distracted him long enough to miss the fist approaching his face and hitting him squarely in the nose. He groaned and headbutted the culprit, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>gosh</span>
  </em>
  <span> that </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fact that it was now three against four did give them the upper hand and they managed to knock another one out and Jeongin dashed away and disappeared into the hallway, which meant they were with one person less, but they were still with more, so maybe they could keep it up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But maybe he had spoken too soon, because of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> there were more people and Minho tried to warn Ryujin that someone was coming up behind her with a book, but he was too late and she was hit unconscious. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho wanted to stand up and punch that smug smile off that guy’s face, but he was grabbed from behind and suddenly a wet cloth was against his face. It smelled awful—</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no. Not chloroform</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho tried to resist, but his consciousness was fading. All he could do was kick around and hope that Jeongin managed to get to Hyunjin before anyone got to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Get the Yang boy you dumbasses!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Was the last thing Minho heard before he blacked out. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 17</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. His screeching quite did the job of stunning his opponents, thank you very much</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeongin waited until just one more of the guys was knocked out before bolting and running towards where he had heard Hyunjin as fast as his legs could carry him. </p><p>“Hyunjin?!” He yelled as he opened some of the doors only to be met with emptiness. He heard some muffled sounds from the room just one door down and he tried to open it, but it was locked. Of course it’s locked!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A chapter from Jeongin's perspective!! We'll get to see what he has found<br/>(Also, I hope I managed with the action scenes last chapter ahaha those are pretty hard) ALSO HAPPY BIRTH TO JEONGIN! I didn't even plan for the Jeongin chapter to go out on Jeongin's birthday but I guess Maknae On Top, haha!</p><p>TW / CW for violence in this chapter again (no graphic violence and no blood though)</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jeongin waited until just one more of the guys was knocked out before bolting and running towards where he had heard Hyunjin as fast as his legs could carry him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hyunjin?!” He yelled as he opened some of the doors only to be met with emptiness. He heard some muffled sounds from the room just one door down and he tried to open it, but it was locked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course it’s locked!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin checked if there were people coming after him as he started kicking at the door, his heart bouncing harshly in his chest in anxiety. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking door, open! Please open!</span>
  </em>
  <span> He backed off a little and dashed towards the door, putting all of his strength into kicking into the door. It fucking hurt his foot, but at least the door budged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, one more time.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He quickly backed up again and kicked the door open, immediately launching himself at the unfamiliar guy in the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin!” Hyunjin exclaimed as the guy cursed and tried to figure out what to do, but Jeongin was faster for once and immediately punched him in the face and pushed him over. He took Hyunjin’s hand and tried to pull him out of the room quickly, but Hyunjin was kind of struggling. He managed to break free from Jeongin’s grip and get something from the guy that Jeongin had knocked out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hyunjin, let’s get </span>
  <em>
    <span>out</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” He urged the older boy, because the guy was starting to regain consciousness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You need to leave me and get—” Hyunjin started, but was cut off by someone yelling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Get the Yang boy you dumbasses!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit. Bad news. We need to hurry up!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not leaving you, let’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” He pulled Hyunjin out of the room and they saw a couple of guys dashing at him, so Jeongin just pulled them into the nearest room and slammed the door shut, pushing himself against the door as a way of locking it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin, we need to go to the opposite room!” Hyunjin tried to go past him and leave the room like a mad man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>! We need to leave!” Jeongin couldn’t have Hyunjin tell him that he still had something to do here now, or that he was actually working on some kind of secret project with these guys, because Jeongin would throw a freaking </span>
  <em>
    <span>fit</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can’t leave without Seungmin!” Hyunjin desperately said and </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Jeongin now understood. If Seungmin was here they definitely couldn’t leave now, but they also couldn’t really leave the room anymore. That was too dangerous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay! Okay, but we also can’t leave this room right now.” Jeongin said and Hyunjin flicked his eyes between his face and the door, but eventually relented.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine. You’re right, but let me at least lock the door.” Hyunjin held up a key that he had probably stolen from the guy in the other room earlier. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank goodness he can still think,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin thought as he let out a breath as Hyunjin locked the door and they shoved the desk that was in the room against it, because Jeongin felt like his brain was fried by panic and adrenaline. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When it became clear that they were safe for now and that no one could come in easily, Jeongin relaxed and turned to Hyunjin, a whirlwind of emotions rushing through him. Anger, sadness, confusion, fear, but most importantly </span>
  <em>
    <span>relief. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tears stung his eyes as he met Hyunjin’s gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” He managed to say without breaking down, but it was hard, because Hyunjin’s eyes were glassy with tears too. He had a lot of questions, but those could wait, his first priority was making sure that Hyunjin was okay. The boy nodded in response and pulled Jeongin into a crushing hug and Jeongin couldn't hold back his tears anymore, sobbing into Hyunjin’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat together like that for a while, but they both knew that they couldn’t stay like that for too long. Jeongin hoped that Chan, Minho and Ryujin could manage, and he was also worried about what Hyunjin had said about Seungmin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm sorry for worrying you, but I'm fine.” Hyunjin said eventually. “But Seungmin… He's…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin trailed off, letting out a whimper and Jeongin's stomach dropped. He pulled out of the hug and searched Hyunjin’s face. “What about him?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Last time I saw him he was… in bad shape.” Hyunjin began. “I tried to help him, but they took him with them and I'm afraid of what they'll do to him if he's not cooperating. Luckily you came.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chan, Minho and Ryujin are here with me, but I have no idea if they're okay…” Jeongin scowled, how were they going to fix this mess? “I kind of left them there, hoping I could get you out of here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we'll have to get out of here and try to help the rest—” Hyunjin was cut off by something hitting the door </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the both of them whipping their heads towards the sound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Open up!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Someone yelled. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, like we’re going to do that just because you’re yelling. Try again.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We have your friends. And we’re not afraid of killing them.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Someone else announced and Jeongin’s eyes went wide. He stood up simultaneously with Hyunjin and approached the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We can’t kill them, though.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Another person said, a lot more softly, but Jeongin could just hear it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What if they work with that detective and one of </span>
  </em>
  <span>them</span>
  <em>
    <span> knows where the research is?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Research? What kind of research?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin’s eyes flicked to Hyunjin and the latter was pressing his lips together in concern. Jeongin wasn’t sure if he should feel down because Hyunjin didn’t tell him, or feel glad that Hyunjin was smart enough not to trust anyone if it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> important.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And… promise… violence… get messy real quick.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin wasn’t paying attention at the first part of the sentence, but he could kind of reconstruct what they were saying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They don’t want to use too much violence because it’ll get messy? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It would explain why Hyunjin looked pretty good compared to the gruesome images Jeongin had imagined was the worst case scenario. It didn't explain why Hyunjin had said that Seungmin was in bad shape and had looked so incredibly worried about him. Jeongin's stomach churned at the thought of people hurting Seungmin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jeongin, do you have any idea if Minho is okay? He’s not responding.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix suddenly said, startling Jeongin from the sudden sound in his ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh…” Jeongin started, but before he could answer he heard more loud voices outside the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Another guy suddenly yelled and his voice got softer as he barked out something else, probably walking away from the door. Jeongin frowned and met eyes with Hyunjin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the heck is going on there?” He asked, but Hyunjin shook his head with a confused look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh shit. Gotta bail. Good luck, Jeongin!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix hurriedly said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What? Bail? He isn’t here is he?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait— Why? Feli—” Jeongin was cut off by a sharp sound in his ear and he flinched. Hyunjin whipped his head towards him and approached him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Did you just say Felix?” Hyunjin’s eyes were questioning as he put a hand on Jeongin’s arm and examined his scrunched up face. “Are you talking to him?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was. Not anymore.” Jeongin assumed the sharp noise was from Felix forcefully shutting off his computer or some shit, (Jeongin’s technology knowledge consisted of being able to find the settings on every device given to him and that was it, so he hadn’t been surprised when someone had managed to block Hyunjin’s number on his phone without him finding out,) and he was wondering what the heck was going on. “He just shut it off or something. He said: </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Oh shit. Gotta bail. Good luck, Jeongin!</span>
  </em>
  <span>’” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Hyunjin said, before he asked: “Are you the only one who could speak to Felix?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, no. Minho could too.” Jeongin said. “But I have a feeling he could talk to me and him separately, because he was awfully quiet in my ear before he asked me if I knew if Minho was okay, because Minho wasn’t responding.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Hyunjin nodded in understanding. “Maybe they heard him and he shut it off so they couldn’t track the device or something.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Jeongin now said, before the bad implications of that sentence hit him. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, yeah.” Hyunjin swallowed thickly, his eyes flicking between Jeongin and the door. “That’s bad news. If Minho is out and they have noticed that you guys were communicating with someone…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin scowled already, but Hyunjin wasn't even done talking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And if they've figured out that Seungmin’s notebook isn't what they're looking for…” Hyunjin spoke more to himself than to Jeongin. Jeongin didn't understand what he said exactly, but it sounded bad. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They've misled them? That can't be good… </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, we really have to get out of here and help them asap.” Jeongin was scared as heck to go out of the room again, because with </span>
  <em>
    <span>how many </span>
  </em>
  <span>were those guys? At least he had Hyunjin, and Hyunjin— depending on how long he had been here already— could help him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be scared, Innie. They can’t hurt me.” Hyunjin said with a shaky chuckle. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s scared himself, jeez. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m also scared that they’ll hurt </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Jeongin returned, half joking and trying to make Hyunjin laugh, but he was also half serious, because even though he was worried about Minho, Seungmin and Chan (and Ryujin a bit), he was also scared of getting hurt himself. He had to admit that he was a bit spoiled in that respect. Hyunjin snickered a little, so not </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> was lost.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly something hit Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, can’t I just call the police?” He looked at Hyunjin with questioning eyes as he patted his pants to look for his phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh…” Hyunjin pursed his lips in thought. “Do you have any idea where we are…?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Jeongin said. He had no idea where they were, because even </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> he would have paid attention to his surroundings while they drove over here, he still would have no idea how he should explain to someone else where they were. “Uhh… Maybe I can look it up?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, if they find out that you called the police, they’ll get out of here before anyone arrives and who knows what they’ll do then.” Hyunjin seemed hesitant for some reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure? They’ll leave without you? Isn’t that what we want, though?” However smart Hyunjin may be, Jeongin wasn’t sure if the two of them would be able to manage to fix their situation without help. Especially not without Felix.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure. Not sure at all.” Hyunjin sighed and brought a hand through his hair, fidgeting with his fingers as he thought about what to do. “I have no idea what they’ll do exactly, but I know they’re not as dumb as they look sometimes.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Obviously not, if even Seungmin didn’t manage to find you.” Jeongin sighed too, his courage quickly dissipating. “I just don’t know if we can do this. If </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> can do this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin stopped fidgeting and turned to Jeongin, his eyes widening a little. “Can do </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” He suddenly asked and it took Jeongin by surprise a little.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, you know— Being the hero and stuff. Coming up with a plan that’ll save everyone. I don’t even know what those guys </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Jeongin just named a couple of the things he couldn’t do right now, almost throwing his hands up in defeat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don't have to do that alone, though.” Hyunjin had a little mischievous glint in his eyes and Jeongin perked up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What is he planning?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “The only thing we have to do is wait for an opportunity to get across the hall into the room where Seungmin is and untie everyone who can help us. Because surely they won't keep everyone in a separate room. They don't have enough people for that. I think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think.” Jeongin repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have a better idea?” Hyunjin raised his eyebrows at Jeongin, but the latter stayed silent. Hyunjin then sighed and rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face before he stepped forward and placed both his hands on Jeongin's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “I get that you're scared. I am too, I've been scared for the past few days, but I've learned from Seungmin that doubting yourself all the time will only get you in more trouble. Doing something and regretting it afterwards is sometimes better than doubting yourself so much that you end up not doing anything at all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin took a deep breath. That sounded very logical and they should definitely do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> rather than nothing in a situation like this, but it was hard to get himself to believe in himself just like that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungmin also told me that even though it may look like it sometimes, no one actually knows what they're doing.” Hyunjin continued with a soft chuckle. “And most importantly: I believe in you. I believe in us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay! Okay, I'm convinced.” Jeongin snickered a little. “You don't have to get all soft on me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know how I am.” Hyunjin's face scrunched up cutely and Jeongin pushed him away before he could pinch Jeongin's cheek or something sappy like that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They then turned to the door and listened carefully for any sounds outside, but neither of them heard anything besides the soft and distant thumping of footsteps and the soft sound of people speaking. It didn't seem like there was anyone in the hallway, though. Did they just leave after threatening them to open the door </span>
  <em>
    <span>once?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Weird, but Jeongin guessed that they had other things to figure out among themselves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sincerely hoped that no one was waiting silently for them to come outside and knock them out or something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do we just go?” Jeongin asked Hyunjin after a couple seconds of silence. Hyunjin shrugged and nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let's just do it.” He said and so they carefully moved the desk back to where it was, trying to be as silent as possible, but just as they were done moving the desk, they heard thumping on the wall of the room and the sound of someone groaning coming from... </span>
  <em>
    <span>outside?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Hyunjin could check what was going on outside from the small window at the back of the room, a figure appeared in front of the window and smashed it open. Hyunjin jumped back with a yell and he hurried to the door, getting the key to unlock the door and get the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> out, because the window guy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> one of their friends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin's heart was thumping at lightspeed as Hyunjin managed to open the door and he double hoped that there was no one waiting for them outside now—— But </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course there was.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately as they stepped out another guy came dashing at them and Jeongin let his </span>
  <em>
    <span>protect Hyunjin</span>
  </em>
  <span> instinct take over and he pushed the guy over with all the force he could muster with his shaking arms. Hyunjin locked the door behind him so the window guy couldn't get out. Smart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy on the floor was groaning and getting up again, so they should act fast, but luckily Hyunjin was already on his way to the room across. Jeongin saw that the guy on the floor was about to yell, so he dashed towards him in an attempt to stop him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They're ou—!!” He began calling, but Jeongin quickly kicked him in the face while not really looking at him because he really didn't want to watch someone get kicked in the face to be honest. At the same time more people appeared from </span>
  <em>
    <span>God knows where</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Jeongin started to panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he felt a hand on his arm and he was pulled into a room. By Hyunjin, thank goodness. While Hyunjin locked the door behind him again, Jeongin turned around to see about seven or eight people, three of them making a ruckus and beginning to run at him— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh shit!!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first thing he did was start yelling— because surely he could yell </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Yelling always startled people and Jeongin thought he was quite good at yelling such that it bordered </span>
  <em>
    <span>screeching</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And so he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And his screeching quite did the job of stunning his opponents, thank you very much. It even helped wake up those four people on the floor— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, whoops. No, wait— Those are my friends!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Not important right now!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin thought to himself as he remembered to use the opportunity of having startled his not-friends and try to knock them out or something. He also managed to buy Hyunjin some time and Hyunjin now stood by his side, trying to help Jeongin out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a struggle, two against three, and with all of the yelling and screaming going on it was only a matter of time before others would try to get in. He hoped that Hyunjin and he could manage to hold them back until his friends could get up and help them. They should probably also try to physically block the door, but was there really time for that right now?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the corners of his eyes he noticed Minho struggling to get up. He was bound— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, maybe I </span>
  </em>
  <span>do </span>
  <em>
    <span>have time to untie him. And the rest. That’ll help us in the long run. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin tried to push the guys away and tried to figure out when was the best time to untie his friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right at that moment Minho managed to floor someone with his legs while being on the floor himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Nice.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin took that opportunity to quickly untie him, but before he could get to the rest, Hyunjin grabbed him by the shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re stronger than me, I’ll untie them. Quick.” Hyunjin rushed him away and Jeongin left the untying to Hyunjin and went to help Minho. He noticed that Minho was a bit wobbly and he was quick to get pushed over by one of the guys who tried to open the door after, but Jeongin was just in time. He wrapped his arms around the guy’s chest and threw all of his weight into throwing the guy away from the door before helping Minho up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Did they knock all of them out earlier? Or did they, like, drug them…? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin wondered for a split second before a loud grunt from Ryujin startled him. She was just freed by Hyunjin as well and Jeongin spotted Chan upright as well. They both looked a bit shaky as well. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now only one left.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin saw Hyunjin standing in front of a chair, probably in the process of untying Seungmin. He then felt a fist punch him in the stomach and he almost hurled over, groaning loudly. He kicked the guy right in the crotch. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Get fucked.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He then turned his head back to the chair, because surely Hyunjin would be done with——</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin’s stomach dropped as he saw Seungmin was still sitting on the chair, with his head in his hands, breathing heavy. His hair was a mess and looked drenched with sweat. When the boy looked up for a quick moment, Jeongin could see that the guy was pallid and he had bruises all over his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin shuddered. Hyunjin hadn’t been exaggerating when saying that Seungmin was in a bad shape, he looked like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ghost</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Loud banging on the door made Jeongin look away from Seungmin. No one was coming in yet, which was good, because they were just about to get the upper hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Everyone stop fighting!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Someone yelled and then the sound of the door clicking open sounded. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door flew open and it revealed a couple of guys wielding big knives. One of them specifically turned to Hyunjin and Jeongin sincerely hoped that Hyunjin was right about that they wouldn’t hurt him. “Let’s talk about this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why should I?” Hyunjin snapped at the guy and Jeongin’s nerves spiked at the audacity his friend was showing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Can he really provoke these guys this much? They have knives!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about we talk about that deal again?” The guy lowered his knife, as if that would make it less scary that he had one. Jeongin’s eyes flicked between him and Hyunjin, his heart bouncing fast in his chest as he watched the scene, unsure if he should interfere. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are they talking about a deal concerning Hyunjin’s research or something?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Hyunjin answered harshly. “I said no and it stays no.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look,” The guy that was obviously in charge sighed. He approached Hyunjin slowly and told him softly: “You wouldn’t want your friends to get hurt, right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are not my friends. I’ve already told you I don’t care what you do with them. You know it’ll get you in trouble if you go too far, though.” Hyunjin said, gesturing to Seungmin behind him as an example and Jeongin felt nauseous, hearing those words. He was lying, Jeongin knew that, he could hear it in the way his voice slightly wavered as he spoke, and everyone Hyunjin had ever spoken to knew that he cared a lot about his friends, but it still made him feel sick to hear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was silent for a bit, though. Hyunjin seemed to have managed to hit a weak spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys know the consequences of your actions. If you kill anyone in this room, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> come back to bite you.” Hyunjin said sternly, a hint of anger lacing his voice. “There are a couple of options: Either you guys kill the person in this room who knows where the thing is you guys want to find and it is published before you can get to it— or I rat you guys out about that— </span>
  <em>
    <span>or</span>
  </em>
  <span> you guys kill everyone after you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> manage to find what you’re looking for, in which case everything will </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>come out one way or another. That is if you guys are even </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to kill me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy across from Hyunjin was fuming, to say the least, and Jeongin would be smug about it, if he wasn’t utterly confused about what he meant with if those guys were even </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to kill him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is there someone else calling the shots?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And torturing these guys is as bad as killing them, but with mild violence you won’t get very far now that I’ve told them this—” Hyunjin continued, but was cut off by a harsh </span>
  <em>
    <span>slap</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the face. Jeongin flinched and Hyunjin hissed, bringing his hand to his cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, you brat.” The guy spat out. “You say you don’t care about any of these guys, but I’m sure you care about your </span>
  <em>
    <span>family's dear friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy whipped his head to Jeongin and Jeongin’s eyes widened in fear. The guy approached him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you! As if you don’t know that hurting him will get you in even </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> trouble!” Hyunjin almost shrieked as he grabbed the guy by his shirt. “Do you want to deal with the consequences of his parents turning against you?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy whipped himself around again and pushed Hyunjin against the wall. He gripped Hyunjin by his hair and pulled it roughly, making Jeongin flinch again. “We will find a way to ruin your annoying ass, Hyunjin, unless you </span>
  <em>
    <span>cooperate</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good luck with that!” Hyunjin bit back, the nerve wracking back and forth continuing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hyunjin!” Jeongin couldn’t help but call out. He had enough, and he could probably get away with calling his name. Hopefully. “You—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cut himself off, sighing and resorting to giving Hyunjin a </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span> that he hopefully understood as </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘stop stressing me out!’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Hyunjin clenched his jaw and pressed his lips together before turning to the guy again. “Give me some time to think.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy raised his eyebrows incredulously. “You want us to leave you alone with these guys?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, of course I do.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We won’t do that. But you can have some time to think while we discuss perhaps some new conditions for a deal. In private. And with that I mean without these guys.” The guy said, gesturing to the rest in the room. “They stay in here, with a couple of my guys. No fighting.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine. But I want to talk to Jeongin before I am making any decisions.” Hyunjin finally said and they seemed to have come to a compromise. The guy in charge told a couple of guys with knives to stay here and the bruised people could leave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then Hyunjin followed the guy outside and they were left 'alone'. Jeongin flicked his eyes between the guys left with them, trying to see if they were likely to do something, but he thought not— and otherwise Ryujin was keeping a close eye on them— so he relaxed a bit more and turned to Seungmin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho and Chan were already crouching near the boy, inspecting him with worried expressions, whispering words of concern to him. Jeongin didn't know what to do, if he should approach him. Minho obviously couldn't have given Seungmin Jeongin's message yet, so he wasn't sure what to say. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw that Seungmin was trying to reassure his friends with a weak smile, the three of them speaking softly to each other, and so he decided to not say anything to him right now, he didn't want to interrupt them and he didn't want to cause Seungmin any more pain or negative feelings than needed, even though Jeongin was pretty worried about him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He also still felt guilty about their fight, even though he knew that it was also partly because of Seungmin’s stubbornness. He wanted to apologize, but he didn't want to make Seungmin mad. What if Seungmin still thought he had done something wrong? Or what if he messed up his apology and he would ruin everything? What if Seungmin didn't want to see him or listen to him at all? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back tears of insecurity welling up in his eyes before he took another look at the boy that was on his mind, only to see him looking right back at him. Jeongin blinked, unsure of what to say, again overwhelmed by the uneasiness of seeing him in a state like this, like he could break any second. Not that Jeongin felt any different. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin?” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 18</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>BTW let me know if I forgot to tag certain things from these chapters ..!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. The dumpling gave permission</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He could try to use this opportunity to make up with Jeongin. He determinedly raised his head and looked at Jeongin again. And as if Jeongin felt it, he turned his head toward Seungmin, his eyes a little glassy. </p><p>Now was the time to speak, but his voice was taking its sweet time. He swallowed away the lump in his throat and spoke. “Jeongin?”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Back to Seungmin's perspective! He talks to Jeongin and they come up with a plan on what to do next</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Seungmin was so incredibly tired. Tired of feeling terrible and not being able to do anything useful. He had been denying to know anything about Hyunjin’s research ever since those guys had started questioning him and he had taken some punches in the meantime, but that didn't compare to how sick he felt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was now hearing things coming from outside and the guys questioning him had taken a break to see what was going on. Seungmin couldn't really concentrate on the sounds coming from outside, he could only hope that whatever was going on wouldn't hurt Hyunjin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A while later the fuss outside of the room hadn't stopped and soon there were three other people getting dragged into the room and thrown onto the floor. Seungmin blinked and tried to focus on the figures, who were unconscious— he smelled a slight hint of chloroform. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Minho…?! Wait, and Chan too? And a girl? </span>
  </em>
  <span>A bad feeling settled in the pit of Seungmin’s stomach, bordering </span>
  <em>
    <span>panic</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He couldn't do anything, his hands were literally tied and he couldn't stand up with his fucked up ankle. Hell, he could barely lift his head with the splitting headache he had. At least it was better than before Hyunjin had come and brought him food. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And speaking of Hyunjin, he had barged into the room later, with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jeongin </span>
  </em>
  <span>of all people, who had made a very loud entrance. Seungmin couldn't see everything, that was too much, but he heard everyone fighting, Chan and Minho also got up to help. Hyunjin had come to untie everyone and had discreetly taken Seungmin into a sort of embrace in the meantime, letting Seungmin rest his forehead against Hyunjin’s chest for a blessed second. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fighting went on until someone came to stop them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Park Jinyoung? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin recognized the voice. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not him again. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It pained Seungmin to hear Hyunjin speak in such a bitter way again and he flinched as he heard a harsh smack followed by a groan coming from Hyunjin. He had lifted his head from out of his hands to see what was happening. Luckily Jeongin managed to stop the back and forth, with only a look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin was definitely on their side, Seungmin realized (way too late). He didn't approach him together with Minho and Chan, though, so maybe he was still angry at him for accusing him of having anything to do with Hyunjin's disappearance. It was a big mistake, Seungmin now knew. How could he have misunderstood— How could he have </span>
  <em>
    <span>underestimated</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeongin and Hyunjin’s bond? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit— Seungmin, you look terrible.” Chan wiped some strands of hair out of Seungmin’s face and inspected it while Minho took a hold of his hand after they had hugged him carefully. “Is there anything we can do?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'm sorry for being too late.” Minho said softly, his voice coated in guilt, but Seungmin didn't want to hear any of that. He mustered some strength to squeeze Minho’s hand and look at him with a serious expression. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin then let out a breath and shook his head softly, closing his eyes so that his head wouldn't hurt too much, before he tried to give his friends a reassuring smile. “I just— I haven't slept in over 28 hours or something and I've barely eaten. I overworked myself and I think I broke my ankle, which doesn't help my cause either.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin paused for a bit, looking at his friends to see if they were okay. “The only thing you guys can do is make sure you guys are okay and stay safe.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Next time you take a little better care of yourself too, okay?” Minho said with a scowl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will.” Seungmin promised them and he flicked his eyes to Jeongin after, Minho and Chan turning around to see what he was looking at. Minho turned back to Seungmin and squeezed his hand to get his attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't worry about Jeongin, he's okay as far as I know.” The older assured him. “He even wanted me to tell you that he was sorry for yelling at you and that he hadn't looked at the situation from your perspective.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Seungmin felt relieved, but also still guilty that he had been so stubborn. Regretting things in hindsight wasn't productive, though, he could try to use this opportunity to make up with Jeongin. He determinedly raised his head and looked at Jeongin again. And as if Jeongin felt it, he turned his head toward Seungmin, his eyes a little glassy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now was the time to speak, but his voice was taking its sweet time. He swallowed away the lump in his throat and spoke. “Jeongin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin seemed to hesitate to come over, but Chan motioned him to come, while placing his hand on Seungmin’s knee comfortingly. Seungmin lowered his head hoping that the headache would fade a bit so that he could look at Jeongin properly. He saw Jeongin’s feet come into his vision and the boy crouched in front of him, in between Chan and Minho, but a little further away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay…? I mean— Of course you’re not okay, I can see that, I have eyes—” Jeongin began and he cut himself off when Seungmin raised his head to look at the younger. Jeongin’s eyes widened a little and he cast his gaze down shyly and rubbed his ear between his fingers. “I’m sorry, Seungmin. I’m sorry for yelling at you and stuff. I just— I didn’t think about it from your perspective…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin shook his head. “No, it’s—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sting in his head made him flinch, so he took a deep breath and looked up at Jeongin, seeing his watery eyes look back at him. Seungmin felt like he was about to cry as well, but no tears came. “I’m sorry for making you feel like I didn’t want to trust you— for being so stubborn. I underestimated your bond with Hyunjin— I’m so sorry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You…?” Tears began to trickle down Jeongin’s cheeks and Chan rubbed a comforting hand along the younger’s back. “It’s okay! You are forgiven! Let’s just put an end to this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That easily…? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seungmin couldn’t believe Jeongin forgave him so easily, but maybe he had been underestimating his friendship with Jeongin too. He had definitely been overestimating how angry Jeongin was with him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Seungmin breathed out, a weak smile forming on his face involuntarily. “You are forgiven as well.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Minnie.” Jeongin sat on his knees and leaned forward a bit. “Can I give you a hug?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded and spread his arms to invite Jeongin into a hug. Jeongin hugged him carefully, but it was full of feeling. It was a warm hug and it made Seungmin forget about his pain for a moment. He tightened his grip on the younger a bit to make the moment last a bit longer, before he remembered that maybe he shouldn’t show that he cares about Jeongin too much in front of those guys with knives. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t think about it for too long, because Jeongin backed out of the hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re probably curious what we’ve done since you’re gone, huh?” Minho spoke up after a short moment of silence. “Do you want us to tell you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded. They didn’t have anything better to do right now, and listening didn’t take up too much energy. And so Minho told him about everything that had happened, how he and Felix had just missed him when he was taken and that they went to the Hwang residence again, where Felix and Jeongin saw Jisung getting taken and they followed the guys for a pretty long while, only for Jisung to be dumped somewhere behind an building alongside an abandoned road. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Distraction technique…? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Was the first thing that popped into Seungmin’s head and his fingers were itching to write all of this down, but he didn’t know who had his notebook right now, and he wasn’t in the best condition for thinking right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin continued, giving details on what happened while he and Felix went to get Jisung and how they encountered the girl, Ryujin, and another girl named Lia who both had a grudge against Hyunjin’s parents’ company. Seungmin thought it was admirable for Felix, Minho and Jeongin to have taken the decision to ask them for help. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan then took over, telling the story. Minho and Jisung had gone to sleep and Chan and Changbin took turns while Felix and the girls worked. Apparently Felix had found this place with the help of the two girls and they had been in touch with Felix until Park Jinyoung's guys had found out that Minho was communicating with someone outside and so he had cut the connection. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was about it, and Seungmin couldn’t be more grateful for his friends. They had done so well. He really wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere on his own. He was also glad that his friends were mostly okay, and that they hadn’t gotten themselves into too much trouble trying to play the hero or something. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>After a while, Hyunjin came back, followed by a kind of disgruntled looking Jinyoung. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You go, Hyunjin.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jinyoung grumbled something that sounded like </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘hurry up, will ya?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> before Hyunjin walked over to where everyone was still crouching around Seungmin. Hyunjin crouched next to Jeongin, but he looked at everyone one by one before speaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know Felix cut off communication,” He started off in a hushed voice, his expression a little hesitant, but Seungmin noticed that he had some sort of a plan. “But he has my… you know…? Right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin saw that Jeongin didn’t really know what he was talking about, and he felt a little bad for him, but he guessed that Hyunjin hadn’t told him to protect him, initially. Minho nodded as an answer to Hyunjin’s question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so it’s not exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>ready</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be published, because I haven’t cleaned everything up yet, but I was thinking that it’ll get us out of here.” Hyunjin said, his eyes flicking between everyone to gauge their reactions. “So… I know that it might be dangerous to communicate with him, but… I just wanted to tell you guys. I don’t want Felix to get himself in danger, so you guys can decide what to do, but just so that you know. I’m sorry for putting such a burden on you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re doing everything you can, Hyunjin. It’s okay.” Jeongin put into words exactly what Seungmin was thinking, and the words seemed to put Hyunjin at ease a little more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we can, we’ll tell—” Minho began, but he was cut off by one of Jinyoung’s guys.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s enough talking. Hyunjin, let’s go.” He demanded. Hyunjin scowled annoyedly, but he got up and complied, leaving the rest behind with some thinking to do. Seungmin was still dealing with a splitting headache, but he decided to just think through it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They couldn’t contact Felix via their communication devices right now, because Felix had shut them off, but calling him on the phone would be dangerous. Seungmin didn’t even have his phone and he doubted if any of the others still had it. Maybe Jeongin had it still with him, but it was dangerous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin did trust Felix that he was trying to figure out a better way to contact them right now, but even if they managed to contact him, Hyunjin had said that his research wasn’t ready to be published just yet. It would be quite the burden for Felix to have to publish it, but then again, he wasn’t alone. Changbin and Jisung were with him, and Lia probably was too, and she had been working at the company, so she could probably help. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seungminnie~” Minho pulled Seungmin out of his thoughts, speaking in an overly sweet voice. He noticed that Chan and Jeongin were looking at him as well. Minho put a hand on Seungmin’s knee and continued. “I can tell that your mind is working overtime right now. You don’t have to do all the thinking work yourself, especially not if you’re sick.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right…” Seungmin muttered sheepishly. “Sorry, can’t really help it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you tell us what you were thinking about and we’ll continue thinking while you lay down and get some sleep?” Chan suggested while patting his lap. Sleeping sounded </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> tempting, to be honest, but he also didn’t want to miss anything. What if Felix managed to contact them and they needed him but they didn’t want to wake him up? Or what if Hyunjin came back and he needed him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you tired?” Jeongin asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” He sighed, he felt like he could sleep for days, but he was anxious about not being able to help. But then again, he couldn’t really help if he was dead tired like this. “You guys do have to wake me up if you need me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will. Now come here and get some sleep.” Minho impatiently motioned him to come down from the chair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I still need to tell you guys about my thought process, though.” Seungmin commented.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, but you can lay down while doing that.” Minho waved him off before he pulled Seungmin down lightly. Seungmin sagged down on his knees in front of his friends and Chan guided him to lay down on his lap. He sighed. It was nice to lie down finally, and he almost immediately fell asleep, his eyelids heavy now that he was lying down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan carded a hand through Seungmin’s hair shortly, the gesture comforting. He let himself relax for a bit before speaking up. “I was thinking that we should maybe tell Felix to publish it. Well— If he thinks he’ll be able to without getting himself or someone else in too much danger. He’s with Lia, Changbin and Jisung still, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho hummed as a response. “He should be.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so I was thinking that he’s probably working on contacting us in a safe way, so that we should wait for him to contact us.” Seungmin continued. “Unless you guys know something better.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re right. We should leave the tech stuff to Lix.” Minho said and Chan nodded in agreement. Seungmin tilted his head a bit to see if Jeongin agreed as well and he saw the younger just look around a little uneasily. Seungmin thought he probably felt a little out of the loop on things, but he was too tired to talk for much longer and explain everything to him. And maybe Hyunjin wanted to be the one to tell Jeongin about everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was that everything?” Chan smiled a little down at Seungmin as the latter felt his eyes fall shut on their own repeatedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” He muttered sleepily, groaning a little as his head stung again. He turned on his side and curled himself up as much as he could, to keep himself warm, because the floor was quite cold. “Sorry if I sweat on your pants, Channie.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan snickered and rubbed a hand along Seungmin’s arm in response. It made Seungmin very sleepy and he felt himself drifting off. “Good night, Min.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you cold, Seungmin?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He could still hear someone ask, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jeongin…?</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but he was too far gone to respond. He tried to respond, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a small grunt. Just before he fell asleep, he felt a warm weight on his upper body and he wondered if his friends somehow had found a blanket or something, but that didn’t make any sense, did it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was it someone’s jacket, perhaps? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I hope that’s better, good night.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck, Jeongin!” Felix hurriedly yelled before quickly shutting down the program completely. He let out a sigh and quickly checked his computer for any traces of someone hacking into it. He thought he had been quick enough with shutting down the program, but you could never be too safe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit. Are they onto us?” Changbin was standing close to Felix, moving between squinting at the screen and looking at Felix with his eyebrows raised. From the sounds he heard behind him, Felix also concluded that Lia and Jisung had joined Changbin in looking at his computer screen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I think I was quick enough to shut it down.” He answered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does that mean we can’t communicate anymore? But we don’t know what happened to Minho!” Jisung sounded pretty scared, which Felix understood, because Jeongin wasn’t able to say if he knew what happened to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s four of them, though, so maybe it’s okay.” Felix tried to reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But he wasn’t responding! And you said that the device wasn’t off. What if something happened to him? Or what if something happened to Chan? Or both?” Jisung continued, knitting his eyebrows together in worry. Changbin took Jisung’s hand to try and calm him down a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax.” Lia told him as well. “We can’t reach them right now, but I’m sure that we can find a way around things. Ryujin may be better with computers than I am, but I’ve been watching her and Felix work, so I’m sure I can help with finding a way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. And we have Felix.” Changbin repeated and Felix laughed a little. Jisung pressed his lips together and let out a breath before nodding. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s true. Sorry for stressing you guys out.” He chuckled sheepishly, but Felix waved him off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Understandable, this whole situation is quite stressful.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we help in any way?” Changbin then asked, gesturing to himself and Jisung. “Do we need to go there and help? Or is that a bad idea? Do we need to call the police?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Going there is not a good idea, I think. We don’t know what to expect, and someone needs to stay here, because of the thing.” Jisung said and Felix assumed he meant Hyunjin’s research when he said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘the thing’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That was very true. It was too risky to send more people there, but maybe calling the police could work? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if calling the police is the greatest plan either.” Lia spoke up, her lips forming a pout in thought. She frowned a little. “I mean— I don’t want to be the reason that anyone dies or something, but… uhh… Ryujin technically can’t be near Hyunjin either because of the restraining order and stuff. And she has the tendency to kinda park her motorcycle in places you can’t park your motorcycle. Especially if she’s not likely to be caught.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix turned to look at her with his eyebrows raised. Lia quickly raised her hands in defense. “I’m not saying we should leave them! I just— If we can find a way to contact them, maybe that’s better. Unless you think they’re in real danger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well— I heard Hyunjin say that Seungmin was there too, so if they haven’t… like, killed him yet, then maybe these guys won’t kill the rest either?” Changbin hesitantly reasoned. “And they were fighting for a pretty long time before that, so…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re wasting time, guys. We need to make a decision.” Jisung said as Changbin trailed off and no one else spoke up. “Let’s just start working on finding a way to reach them while we think.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Felix turned around on his chair and quickly started thinking. The easiest thing would be to try and encrypt their communication, so that anyone intercepting the signal wouldn’t be able to easily find the source. Anyone could still listen to what they were saying to each other, but Felix could also try to make that as hard as possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He told Lia about what he was planning to do while already starting to rewrite parts of the program he made. He sincerely hoped he wouldn’t need to adjust anything on the hardware, because he obviously didn’t have access to that right now. The only thing he could think of that Changbin and Jisung could do right now was maybe get some food, because he was getting a bit hungry and he thought that the rest might be as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix thought he would be quick with this, but it proved to be quite the chore to make sure that the signal would be hard to trace. It was probably ninety percent because Felix had never </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> done something like this, but he took inspiration from VPN’s to retrace their signal to look like it came from somewhere else. Once he got into a flow, and together with Lia’s sharp eye for typos and other small mistakes, Felix felt like maybe they could still be pretty quick with this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ran a quick test of the program by connecting it to his laptop and trying to trace it and after a couple of final adjustments he felt like he could take the chance to contact his friends for real. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” He leaned back from his computer— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ouch, my back. I should check my posture more often</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He cracked his neck and stretched his fingers and wrists for a bit before looking at Lia, who nodded to his silent question of if they were done. “I think this is good enough.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re done?” Changbin perked up and he and Jisung immediately jumped up from where they had been eating at his dining table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’ve tested it a couple of times and I think it now redirects the signal and it looks like we’re somewhere else.” Felix explained while starting up the program again and connecting it to Minho and Jeongin’s device again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I approve as well.” Lia commented. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a while longer to connect to the communication devices than before, and Felix held his breath the whole thirty seconds it took to connect, only to find out that the devices were turned off automatically when he disconnected. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit.” He cursed. “Of course.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? What is it?” Jisung squinted at the screen. “You can’t reach them?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, they’re just turned off.” Felix gritted his teeth in frustration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can’t you override it?” Lia asked, pushing Felix’s hand away from the computer mouse and opening up the code again herself, scrolling to find the right part. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right! I can! Let me see…” Of course he could override the device and turn it on remotely, he made the damn things! The only thing was that he had to remember how to do that exactly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This part, right?” Lia sat hunched over the keyboard, squinting at the screen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep, so uhh, I can just uhh…” Felix thought hard. Should he just delete the part that makes it possible for the one wearing the device to turn it off and on and make it so that it is always on when the program is active…?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just make a button that allows you to turn it off and on?” Lia finished the sentence for him and that was actually a really simple and great idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re a genius, Lia. Thanks.” Felix smiled and began to work, this was done </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> quickly and easily, although he should still be careful to not make any stupid mistakes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Oh, okay, thanks.” Lia’s eyes widened before she smirked proudly. She whispered </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m totally going to tell Ryujin that I was called a </span>
  </em>
  <span>genius</span>
  <em>
    <span> by this guy,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>to herself before getting her phone out and typing something. Felix snickered and he felt someone pat his head behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> are also a genius, Lixie.” Jisung said with a proud smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop</span>
  </em>
  <span> it…” Felix murmured shyly as he finished up the code and restarted the program, reconnecting to the devices and turning them on. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> work, but you never knew until you tried. The program said that he was connected and he could speak now. He already heard crackling, so that was good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello? Jeongin? Minho?” He asked and he held his breath so that he would be able to hear everything. He could swear that he heard someone gasping. His eyes widened and he shared a look with Changbin and Jisung, who seemed to have heard it as well, judging by their shocked looks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Felix?!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho!?” Jisung gasped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He is okay!?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho was whispering, so he probably still wasn’t alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sung! Lix, oh my gosh. Are we safe to speak?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, we still gotta be... </span>
  <em>
    <span>careful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Felix said, hoping that Minho would understand that he meant that people could listen in on them. “Is everyone okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes, mostly. We’re all together. With Seungmin. No Hyunjin in the room with us, but he’s fine too.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin whispered, so he was okay too, thank goodness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s good.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes, and… uhh</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span> We have something we may need you to do.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho said hesitantly. Felix shared a look with the rest when Minho didn’t continue, before he decided to ask about it himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You need to be careful, but… </span>
  </em>
  <span>the thing</span>
  <em>
    <span> needs to get out, if you know what I mean.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho told him cryptically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The thing needs to get out? Does that mean… that they want me to publish the research?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The dumpling gave permission.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix snorted. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The dumpling. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That was obviously Hyunjin, so now Felix was sure that he meant to say that Felix should publish the research. The rest frowned in confusion, but Felix would explain later, after he would turn it off to make sure they wouldn’t have time to still trace the signal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, got it. I’ll talk to you guys later.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 19</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. It’s not as bad as it could be</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minho wondered what those guys were doing with Hyunjin, though. It seemed to take ages before he and two other guys entered the room again.</p><p>“Make it quick.” That annoying guy who always talked spoke as he pushed Hyunjin into the room.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Things are starting to move (finally?), Hyunjin has a plan.</p><p>TW / CW for minor violence in this chapter (it's less than in previous chapters and its really only really briefly, but just to be sure)</p><p>Enjoy!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, got it. I’ll talk to you guys later.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix had said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He accepts it just like that?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Minho had thought as Felix asked if they had anything else to say or if that was it and he could disconnect again to be safe. The boy probably wasn’t thinking about the risks or the fact that the research couldn’t really be published just like that and that he still had work to do. Minho didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Either way, the fact that they couldn’t safely keep in touch with Felix was working on Minho’s nerves. At least Seungmin was still sleeping and he hadn’t been woken up by their talking, despite him being a light sleeper. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span>, no one had noticed that they had been talking to someone else, so that was good too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wondered what those guys were doing with Hyunjin, though. It seemed to take ages before he and two other guys entered the room again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Make it </span>
  <em>
    <span>quick</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” That annoying guy who always talked spoke as he pushed Hyunjin into the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I kinda need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>discuss</span>
  </em>
  <span> something with Jeongin, though.” Hyunjin grumbled back, but annoying-in-charge-guy (otherwise known as the shortened version </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘anincha’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, in Minho’s head) just scoffed. Hyunjin went to sit next to Jeongin and a small smile appeared on his face when he saw the boy that was asleep on Chan’s lap, Jeongin’s jacket forming a makeshift blanket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you discuss it in </span>
  <em>
    <span>private</span>
  </em>
  <span> with Jeongin?” Anincha grumbled. “I don’t think the rest of those guys need to hear it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why do you care? It’s not like the information is precious.” Hyunjin shot back and he stayed where he was. Minho had to give him credit for acting as ballsy as he was doing, because he knew that it didn’t come easy to him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He must really be annoyed.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so how’s it going?” Hyunjin turned to the rest, and specifically Jeongin, although Minho noticed that his eyes periodically flicked to Seungmin. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s not going anywhere, Hyunie, don’t worry, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho tried to telepathically tell Hyunjin. He also suddenly remembered Seungmin’s love letter, they still had no idea what happened to it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We gave Felix your message.” Jeongin whispered and Hyunjin’s eyes widened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? You managed to contact him?” The boy whispered back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, he managed to contact </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I have no idea how, but Minho told him— although very cryptically— to publish the thing. I still have no idea what </span>
  <em>
    <span>the thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> actually is, but I’m sure that you’ll tell me once we’re out of here.” Jeongin told him and Minho saw Hyunjin biting his lip to hold back a big smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Innie. I’m sorry for keeping secrets, but it was to protect you.” Hyunjin said and Jeongin nodded, waving him off casually. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh, thank you guys.” Hyunjin then said, his eyes sparkling. Minho almost got the urge to pinch his cheek. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Almost</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What were you talking about in there?” Jeongin then asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good question</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Minho was curious as heck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh… They are trying to make me close a deal with them. And, uhh, with my parents.” Hyunjin said and Jeongin’s eyebrows shot through the roof, while Minho almost yelled. Chan also flinched, which made Seungmin stir and groan softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, sorry Minnie.” Chan whispered, trying to get him to stay asleep by softly rubbing his arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jeongin hissed almost angrily at Hyunjin. “They </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re here?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, they— They…” Hyunjin struggled for words, distracted by Seungmin who seemed to have been woken up by the fuss. Chan was still trying to get Seungmin to go back to sleep, but Minho already knew that he wouldn’t succeed. “They know I’m here, but they’re also making sure I’m okay!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re behind all this?!” Jeongin continued, luckily still keeping his voice down, but it wavered in anger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well— Actually there are a lot of people…” Hyunjin trailed off again, his eyes straying to Seungmin who turned around and tilted his head to look in his and Jeongin’s direction, his eyes blinking open slowly. “...A lot of people who have the same goal. There’s this whole team. It wasn’t their </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do this. I think.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span>?! Are you defending them?!” Jeongin didn’t realize that Seungmin was awake now, but when Hyunjin didn’t answer him, he turned around to see what he was looking at. Jeongin’s eyes widened slightly when he saw that Seungmin was awake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin rubbed a little in his eyes to wake himself up, Jeongin’s jacket still hanging on his shoulders. “Hyunjin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m here to discuss things with Jeongin, but it seems you guys have managed to contact Felix and give him my message.” Hyunjin summarized quickly. “Sorry for waking you up.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin shook his head lightly, making a soft disgruntled sound. He cleared his throat and looked between Jeongin and Hyunjin. “Who were you just talking about…?” He asked softly, his voice a bit raspy still.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin and Hyunjin stayed silent for a bit, they probably didn’t want to startle Seungmin now that he had just woken up. Hyunjin was looking the most vulnerable that Minho had seen him recently, while he was looking at Seungmin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I was just telling everyone that those guys were trying to get me to close a deal with them. And with my parents.” Hyunjin said, looking down at his lap and fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Seungmin perked up, but immediately flinched, his hand flying to grab at his head. Immediately all four of them twitched to make sure the boy was okay, Chan being in the best position to check up on him. Seungmin shook his head, though, murmuring that he was okay softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s… I expected it. I made a mistake and I knew that they would find out eventually what I was doing. I just— I just thought I could maybe be done with it before it would get messy. I’m really sorry for getting you guys in trouble too and making you worry about me, but— It’s not as bad as it could be.” Hyunjin said, trying to ease his friends a bit. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not as bad as it could be, but still bad, I’m assuming.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I’m really glad I have you guys and I’m sure we’ll figure out what to do together.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeongin slowly nodded, his lips pressed together into a thin line. “So… What are you going to do now?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… Uhh, I guess I have to stall them for a little longer, until I know that Felix has managed to… you know.” Hyunjin shrugged. “If he contacts you guys again, just make sure to tell him to send an email to my parents and whatever news channel with an excerpt of my notes, from which my general message is conveyed, but he shouldn’t get it out there just yet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will do. Please don’t make those guys do any stupid things, okay?” Jeongin gave Hyunjin a stern look. Hyunjin snickered a bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I won’t.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s long enough, wrap it up, ‘Jin.” Anincha announced, clapping his hands together and waving around to show his impatience. Hyunjin sighed and gave every one of his friends a look, his gaze lingering a little longer on Seungmin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess I’ll go now. Do you guys need anything?” He looked around, but no one answered, so he nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin then stood up and looked at everyone one more time. “See you in a bit, take care. And you can go back to sleep, Seungminnie. Don’t worry about me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin let out a huff as Hyunjin walked away and Minho couldn’t hold back a grin. Chan patted his lap again for Seungmin to lie down and they managed to convince him to go back to sleep. Minho only noticed now that Ryujin had dozed off somewhere against the wall, so he woke her up and briefly filled her in on what the situation was now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can sleep if you want, though. All we can do is wait.” He told her as he saw her almost doze off again. Ryujin nodded and gave him a thumbs up with a sleepy smile before Minho went back and joined the rest. He saw that Seungmin had decided to go back to sleep as well, luckily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He said he was getting a bit nauseous, but I think he managed to fall asleep anyway.” Chan whispered as he saw Minho eyeing the boy with a concerned look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hate this.” Jeongin grumbled as he leaned back on his hands with a deep sigh. Minho didn’t know if Jeongin was talking about the fact that Seungmin was sick, about the fact that Hyunjin had left again or about the situation in general, but either way, Minho could relate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was incredibly boring to sit on the cold floor all day and </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Wait for either Felix to contact them or for Hyunjin to come back. In the meantime all Minho could do was think about if everyone was okay and that honestly didn’t help his mood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a while, Minho suddenly heard crackling in his ear and he perked up, blinking a bit from the harsh sound and he saw Jeongin get alert as well. The two of them shared a look and Jeongin tapped Chan on his shoulder to alert him as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hello?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix sounded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix, hi.” Minho said as he reseated himself, his heart pounding in anticipation. “How’s it going?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I went through the thing with Lia and Jisung and Changbin and we kind of picked out the important parts and we’ve written those down. We’re now scanning everything.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The boy told them and Minho indeed thought he could hear some computer noises in the background. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Now we’re actually wondering what exactly the plan is. Do we just post the whole thing online somewhere? Send it to news sites?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hy— I mean, uhh, the dumpling said to send an excerpt to a couple of news sites and to…” Jeongin began, but trailed off, looking at Minho for help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To the ones who made the dumpling.” Minho finished the sentence for him. It wasn’t the best code, but whatever. It got the message across, he hoped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix snorted and Minho heard more giggling in the background. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Toddlers, every single one of them</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Minho thought as he shook his head with a lopsided smile on his face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, we’ll do that. Anything else?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. He said to make sure it isn’t published just yet.” Minho added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Got it. How is Seungmin doing, by the way?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An obvious scowl appeared on Jeongin’s face as he looked at the boy who was sleeping on Chan’s lap. Minho saw that he still looked pale as heck, and his hair was slightly damp and stuck to his forehead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not good. He’s pretty sick, and he might have broken his ankle.” Minho murmured. “But he’s sleeping now, so it isn’t as bad as it could be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He unconsciously repeated Hyunjin’s words and he realized that they were pretty lucky actually, that Hyunjin’s parents were involved, because that was probably the reason that Hyunjin was mostly okay and the reason that Hyunjin actually had leverage over his capturers. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Their biggest mistake was caring about Hyunjin, I guess.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh shit. It’s good that he’s resting, though.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“We’ll get on with it now. Talk to you guys later.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bye.” Minho and Jeongin told Chan a summary of what they had talked about. It should all start getting less boring pretty soon, and Minho hoped that no one would do anything rash. He wondered if they should wake up Seungmin in advance, so that he wouldn’t be all groggy if he would be woken up by something else and they would have to get to action, but maybe it could still take a while before anything happened, so Minho decided to let the boy sleep for a while longer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a while— It did take somewhat longer than Minho had expected, it had sounded like Felix and the others were almost ready already, but maybe they had some more to do before they could actually send anything— they heard pounding come from outside, and distant voices. They must have gotten the email. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ryujin woke up and the knife guys also became more alert, whispering to each other before one of them went out of the room to check it out. “You guys stay here. Don’t move.” The leaving knife guy threatened them, pointing specifically to Ryujin who was trying to slide over to where the rest sat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on? Is this good?” She asked in a hushed voice, only to be immediately told to shut up, by one of the knife guys. Seungmin stirred and moved, probably woken up by the fuss again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid knife guys. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...those </span>
  </em>
  <span>fucking</span>
  <em>
    <span> guys!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Someone yelled from outside and Minho jumped when Anincha and his stupid minions entered the room again, slamming the door open. “You guys didn’t destroy their communication?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It—It was broken though!” One of the knife guys stammered. It was true that those guys had taken Minho’s device when he had been knocked out by the chloroform, but they had only thrown it in a corner, and not actually broken it, so Minho had sneakily taken it back when no one was looking, and had found it to be still working when Felix had turned them on again, although the sound was of way worse quality than before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take them out </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Anincha ordered and Hyunjin tried to calm the guy down from behind subtly. Minho stood up and braced himself to resist anyone who tried to touch him, but now that everyone was in the room, there were at least two people coming at every one of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone grabbed Minho from behind and another guy immediately stuck a finger in his ear. He groaned loudly. “Hands off! You bunch of nasties!” He yelled, but it didn’t work, they pulled the comm out of his ear and crushed it under their feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they were done they grabbed everyone else, to look for communication devices, even grabbing Seungmin. Minho felt anger flare up in his chest as he saw Seungmin flinch as he was being manhandled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy</span>
  </em>
  <span> on him, you fuckwits! He’s not going to resist!” Minho tried to get the guys off of his friend and was almost kicked in the face by a Jeongin who was trying to achieve the exact same thing. Chan struggled to get out of the grip of someone and help Jeongin get the guys off of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here’s another one—!” Another guy announced as he threw Jeongin’s comm on the ground, but he was cut off by the boy surging forward and headbutting him in the face, which caused chaos to erupt, everyone jumping at each other and trying to get everyone off of each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys! Stop!” Hyunjin yelled, causing the fighting to pause for a moment. “Nothing good is going to come out of this! It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>over</span>
  </em>
  <span>, okay?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut </span>
  <em>
    <span>up</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Hwang! Everyone should stop fighting, but this is not over!” Anincha announced loudly. “We still have a chance to find the research. I’m sure that that email will get us—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It will get published before you’ll even be able to get close to finding it.” Hyunjin cut him off as everyone slowly stopped fighting. “No matter what, the corruption will come to light. It’s up to you, however, if you want to let that happen in a humiliating way, or in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>civil</span>
  </em>
  <span> way.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re bluffing.” Anincha turned to Hyunjin, his face scrunched up in anger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you not see my parents’ reaction to the email?!” Hyunjin exclaimed exasperatedly. “I bet they’ll want to do this the civil way now. It’s been long enough. Give up.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anincha gritted his teeth and looked at the rest of his guys for their opinions, but they just shrugged. One guy spoke up softly, but Minho couldn’t hear what he whispered into Anincha’s ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d hurry up before the option of this going civil expires.” Hyunjin warned them and he got a couple of angry looks shot at him, but eventually Anincha relented. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Everyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>stays</span>
  </em>
  <span> here until we’re done.” He ordered and Minho rolled his eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How much longer?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you! You heard the guy, it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>over</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Why should we stay?” Ryunjin spat at the guys and she just dodged a punch directed at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s right, we should all leave. We can discuss this further at home.” Hyunjin agreed, but Anincha didn’t seem convinced. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to make sure you guys won’t publish it, we aren’t leaving without certainty of that.” Someone else countered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no way for you guys to get certainty, though. But I’ll make sure that it won’t be published just yet </span>
  <em>
    <span>after</span>
  </em>
  <span> you guys let them go.” Hyunjin shot back and the guy suddenly became silent. Anincha shared a look with the others and they whispered a bit before Anincha let out a deep sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever. But if you’re playing us, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> hunt these guys down and make you regret your actions.” The guy threatened again, before he turned to the rest. “Okay, you guys, get out.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t leaving without him.” Jeongin stated as he stood up. Anincha let out an incredibly obnoxious sigh and rolled his eyes in annoyance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hyunjin, can you tell them to leave? We’re not taking them with us.” He said as he waved at the rest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin approached them and again his eyes strayed specifically to Seungmin, but he went to stand in front of Jeongin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re leaving to go talk to my parents about what to do next. I’ll come back as soon as possible, though. Jeongin, you can come with me if that will make you guys feel better, but I don’t think I’ll have time to tell you everything yet.” He started, his expression apologetic as he explained the situation. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you guys, though. I’m so, so sorry for lying to all of you, but I promise I’ll explain everything and make it up to you guys. You guys can go home and rest.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned to look at Seungmin again, his eyebrows coming together in a slight frown and his lips turned down into a scowl. “Go home and get well for me, okay? I’m sorry—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop apologizing, Hyunjin.” Seungmin cut him off, his voice wavering a little, but his expression was stern. “Just— Just come back soon okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin’s eyes became a little wet as he blinked at the younger and nodded at him with a sorry expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And give us a hug before you go.” Chan added and he pulled the boy who was starting to get teary eyes into a hug. Minho could hear Hyunjin whisper more thank you’s into Chan’s ear as they hugged. Minho ignored the sighs and grumbles he heard from behind him as he finally hugged Hyunjin as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope you’ll accept me back as your roommate.” Hyunjin murmured and Minho let out a scoff. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course I will, you dumbass.” Minho pulled out of the hug and pushed him towards Jeongin. “Only if you’ll help me clean up the mess it is now, though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin snickered and smiled a little, contrasting his teary eyes, before he hugged Jeongin tightly as well. Those two took their sweet time, </span>
  <em>
    <span>as they should</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but Seungmin was also still up for a hug and however much Minho loved it that they were annoying Anincha, he kind of wanted to go home and be done with this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed like Jeongin felt the same, because he pulled out of the hug and smiled a lopsided smile at Hyunjin. “Now go give Seungmin a big hug and kiss or something and get out. I'll come with you so you won’t have to be alone anymore.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin nodded and immediately crouched in front of Seungmin, who Minho saw was doing his best to keep his expression neutral, but he failed as Hyunjin leaned forward and pulled him into a careful but tight hug. Seungmin buried his face into the crook of Hyunjin’s neck and held on just as tight. They probably had a lot to say to each other— they all did— but no words were exchanged as the two hugged as if there was no one else in the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone loudly clearing their throat interrupted the two and Hyunjin gave Seungmin one last assuring smile before he waved them goodbye, thanking Ryujin quickly as well, and they all finally left the building. Chan carried Seungmin on his back to the car and the first thing Minho did when they were there was get his phone that he had just gotten back and call Felix and put him on speaker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...Minho? You're calling me? What happened to the comms? Are you—?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix rambled as soon as he picked up the phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We're coming back.” Minho cut him off. He grinned as he heard gasps and whoops from the other side of the call. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“With Hyunjin and Seungmin? Everything's already solved? They're letting you guys go?!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix exclaimed excitedly and Minho wondered where he got all of that excitement from, since he probably hadn't slept </span>
  <em>
    <span>at all</span>
  </em>
  <span> today. He explained their situation to him as they got into the car and got ready to go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're a real hero, you know that, Lix?” Chan said as Minho started the car and Felix let out a laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I couldn’t have done without you guys, though. And Hyunjin told me what to do. And Lia really helped me out too.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Felix sounded a little shy, it was cute. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Right! I helped him. Can Ryujin hear me, by the way? I need her to know that your friend called me a genius.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lia suddenly exclaimed and Minho couldn't help but laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We're already on our way, so you can let her know when we're back.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They drove back while catching up with the ones at home, who kept telling them that they were glad that everyone was coming back relatively fine (meaning, not dead or severely injured). Minho did contemplate bringing Seungmin to the hospital first, but Seungmin insisted he just had to rest, eat and drink something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they arrived back home, everyone was waiting for them in front of Felix’s place. Felix, Jisung and Changbin immediately rushed to hug the rest, careful not to knock Chan over who was hoisting Seungmin up onto his back. Lia also rushed to Ryujin to hug her tightly and told her immediately about Felix calling her a genius, causing Ryujin to burst out in laughter and applause.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys must be </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>hungry</span>
  </em>
  <span>! I have literally no food left in my apartment, but I can quickly do some groceries and make something for everyone? Minnie what do you want to eat?” They were just entering Felix’s apartment again and Felix had a small notebook in his hand and was presumably looking for a pen until he threw the little book away and just opened his phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lix, you don’t have to—” Chan began, but he was cut off by Ryujin who loudly agreed to have some food. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll come with you, Lixie.” Changbin volunteered, raising his hand. “I still can’t cook though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s okay!” Felix exclaimed happily before he turned to Seungmin again and raised his eyebrows. “What are you feeling?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin shrugged a bit as he was lying on the couch. “Some plain rice is fine, I guess.” He said drowsily, he looked as if he was about to fall asleep again and so Minho went to get a blanket for him as Felix left. After that Minho plopped down on a chair and let himself relax, finally. He doubted that he’d be able to sleep tonight, considering everything that has happened the past couple of weeks, but maybe he wouldn’t have to sleep alone, he thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon everyone sat at Felix’s dining table, (except for Seungmin, he was still sleeping), and they were talking about what they were going to do next. Lia and Ryujin would go back home after eating, but they had given Felix their phone numbers because they actually wanted to know how things would end up (and maybe do something about that restraining order). Felix also told them that he had received a text from Jeongin that everything was fine on their end and that they still didn’t have to do anything regarding the publishing of the research.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you three?” Felix eyed the three musicians. “Are you going back to the Hwangs?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chan, Changbin and Jisung shared a look with each other, contemplating. Minho could imagine that it was a hard question to answer, because on one hand they had said that they were happy there, but considering what happened with Hyunjin and considering that Hyunjin’s parents were </span>
  <em>
    <span>involved</span>
  </em>
  <span>— that was something Minho still wasn’t quite done processing— they might rethink things.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m not even sure if they’ll accept us back in the first place, but maybe it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> time for something new?” Chan began hesitantly. “We won’t be going back tonight, though. I think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope, let’s not.” Changbin agreed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I still have a free bed if any one of you want to stay with me.” Minho proposed. “And of course Jisung can sleep with me in my bed again if you want to stay.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung nodded a bit shyly, probably because Lia and Ryujin were still at the table with them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I can take Seungmin to his place and I’ll stay with him tonight?” Chan proposed and Changbin wanted to protest, saying that Chan had done enough already and that he could sleep in a bed tonight, but Chan didn’t take no for an answer. “It’s really okay, Bin. If we’re lucky then Seungmin will be better soon.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so they finished up their food and said goodbye to Lia and Ryujin, thanking them a couple more times for good measure. They then stayed at Felix’s for a little while longer, just relaxing and sometimes speaking a little about what had happened the past week, but it felt kind of wrong to talk about it without Hyunjin there with them or without Seungmin awake to join the conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Seungmin did wake up, Felix made some rice for him and they told him a bit about their conversation at the dinner table. Minho was glad to see that Seungmin was beginning to regain some colour on his face as he ate. That meant that he had one thing less to worry about tonight. Not that he doubted the fact that Jisung would be able to ease his mind as always and get him to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was still processing everything, though, and he was sure that he could only put his mind at ease when Hyunjin would be back and after the boy would have told them everything. In the meantime Minho was glad that he was a florist and not a private investigator, because if cases were like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> everytime, he would surely die at thirty from stress. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That didn’t mean that he would hesitate to help Seungmin and Felix out if they ever needed him, though, because being a florist wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> exciting.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 20</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It sort of feels like the end already, huh? But there is still a lot to resolve~! We will get some Answers next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. There was still a lot that he hadn’t been able to figure out exactly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“We’re finally going to be able to ask him what happened to your love letter?!” Minho exclaimed and the rest laughed. Traitors. Seungmin threw a pillow at the older and sent the rest an angry look.</p><p>“Shut up about my love letter!” He pushed Minho’s shoulder for good measure as he put away his crutches and sat down on the couch. “The important thing here is that he’s finally coming back to stay. He’ll probably have a lot to do still, but we’ll be able to finally talk.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>we are getting some more answers about what happened! time for everyone with theories to check if they were right lmao</p><p> </p><p>enjooy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It only took a couple of days before they got a text from Jeongin telling them that things were moving and that Hyunjin was almost free to go home. To say that Seungmin almost yelled was an understatement. He had recovered in the meantime from his fever and fatigue, his ankle still hadn’t healed fully so he still had to walk with crutches, but otherwise he was fine now. When he read Jeongin’s text, he was hanging out with all of his friends in Minho and Hyunjin’s apartment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to be able to ask him what happened to your love letter?!” Minho exclaimed and the rest laughed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Traitors</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Seungmin threw a pillow at the older and sent the rest an angry look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up about my love letter!” He pushed Minho’s shoulder for good measure as he put away his crutches and sat down on the couch. “The important thing here is that he’s finally coming back to stay. He’ll probably have a lot to do still, but we’ll be able to finally talk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin had come back to get his research in the meantime and to return Seungmin’s notebook to him, but they hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to him for real yet. Minho didn’t want to shut up about his love letter though, as if that was the only unanswered question that they still had about this whole thing. The guy had even managed to get Felix, Jisung, Changbin and </span>
  <em>
    <span>even</span>
  </em>
  <span> Chan to join him in asking about the love letter and if he would confess and yada yada—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Minho.” Seungmin suddenly had an idea. He smirked and turned to Minho. “You keep talking about my love letter and confessing and stuff, but have </span>
  <em>
    <span>you and Jisung</span>
  </em>
  <span> talked about your thing yet?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho’s expression only changed very minimally, but Seungmin spotted that his ears had become a deep red. Jisung only smiled at Minho and reached for his hand. Minho’s lips twitched into a smile as well as he intertwined their fingers and turned his head to look at Jisung. Did that mean that they had talked about it or not? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We haven’t talked about it explicitly, but since Chan, Changbin and I are probably staying here, I wouldn’t mind it if I could call Minho my boyfriend…? We kind of have been acting like it already, haven’t we?” Jisung gave Minho a hopeful look, his eyes growing round, and Minho rolled his eyes (fondly?) at him and nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure.” Seungmin almost didn’t hear Minho as he whispered it, but he did see that the man’s blush spread to his cheeks as he inched closer to Jisung and— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh god.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys, if you’re going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kiss</span>
  </em>
  <span>, please go to your room—” Changbin whined, but he cut himself off as Minho and Jisung just placed their hands on each other’s ears to tune him out and continue their love-induced staring. They were definitely going to kiss and Seungmin looked away in advance, but then he heard a knock on the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Changbin and Felix didn’t seem to have heard it as they were still looking at Minho and Jisung, but Chan did meet his eyes with a curious look. Since Minho was obviously busy right now, Seungmin grabbed his crutches to stand up and answer the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had become a habit of him to first peek through the peephole before opening the door, but he didn’t see anyone standing in the hallway. He frowned but still decided to open the door and look, maybe it was one of the kids from downstairs and he just couldn’t see them…? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Huh? Still no one…?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin took a careful step outside of the apartment and— </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wah!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin jumped five meters into the air, almost fell over and let out an embarrassingly loud squeak as he suddenly felt two hands grab his shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Changbin yelled from the apartment as Seungmin calmed down and he was so prepared to send a glare to whoever was cackling, but then he saw and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>heard</span>
  </em>
  <span> who the </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span> people were that were laughing at him and he couldn’t do anything other than </span>
  <em>
    <span>smile</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hyunjin! Jeongin!” A bright smile formed on his face as Hyunjin jumped into his arms while still laughing. He let go of one of his crutches to hug Hyunjin back with one arm. He hadn’t expected that he’d see them so soon again. “I thought you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> free?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surprise!” Hyunjin pulled out of the hug and grinned widely at Seungmin. Oh how he had missed that gorgeous smile of his. “I’m happy to see you got better. And I’m happy that you’re happy to see me. How’s your ankle doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, thank you.” Seungmin rolled his eyes with a little smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And of course I am happy to see you, I’ve only been waiting to see you again ever since you disappeared. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come in, come in.” He motioned them to enter the apartment and Hyunjin walked in as Jeongin spread his arms to hug Seungmin as well. It was a hug that Seungmin accepted gladly. He had missed seeing Jeongin smile, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jisungie! Changbinnie! Lixie!” Hyunjin exclaimed as he opened his arms to welcome everyone into a hug. “It has been too long! I have missed you all so much!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank god you came in, because those two were about to </span>
  <em>
    <span>uhh</span>
  </em>
  <span> suck each other’s faces off.” Changbin told Hyunjin as he accusingly waved at Jisung and Minho and Hyunjin let out a laugh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seo Changbin! Shut up!” Jisung barked out and slapped the boy with no force at all. He then turned to Hyunjin and corrected: “We were about to very romantically kiss and pretend that there was no one else in the room.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minho and Chan now joined Hyunjin in laughing while Jeongin pulled a disgusted face and Seungmin could relate to that more. “Are you guys joking or do I need to leave again?” The younger asked, his face scrunched up into a scowl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, we won’t kiss right now. C’mere.” Jisung sighed and motioned Jeongin to come in as well, spreading his arms for a hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait— You guys are together now?! No more romantically tinted letters and long distance pining?” Hyunjin’s eyes went wide as he looked between Jisung and Minho. Minho nodded and a smile grew on Hyunjin’s face. “Oh my gosh. You guys will have to tell me </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> about that later, but you guys probably want to hear from me first. You know, uhh, what happened and all.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Please.” Felix clapped his hands together in anticipation. Seungmin had to agree that he was very curious about what had happened to Hyunjin in the few days surrounding his disappearance. There was still a lot that he hadn’t been able to figure out exactly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll tell you guys, but…” Hyunjin trailed off, his gaze straying to Seungmin and a small smirk forming on his face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But…?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I was actually curious about how much you were able to figure out. If you guys will allow me to stall for a little longer.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at Seungmin expectantly and Seungmin blinked, dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, thinking. “You mean I have to guess what happened?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh, I wanna hear that too!” Jeongin agreed eagerly, grinning widely. Seungmin just looked at him confusedly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They want </span>
  </em>
  <span>me</span>
  <em>
    <span> to tell the story rather than Hyunjin?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, come on, Minnie, show off your investigation skills.” Felix pushed his shoulder encouragingly. Seungmin looked around and saw everyone looking back at him. He guessed that they really wanted him to go first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll fill in everything you’re missing, don’t worry.” Hyunjin assured him. “But you might even know more than I do about some parts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, uhh, so I guess I’ll just go chronologically. But first I need my notebook, because otherwise I’ll make mistakes.” He stood up to get his notebook and sat down again. He had updated his notes with everything he had missed after he had gotten better, just in case it was needed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so… You are from a pretty wealthy family and you worked for the family company for a while, but then you found out about corruption going on in your branch.” He began, checking Hyunjin’s expression to see if he was at least right about that. The older boy nodded and motioned him to continue. “I’m not sure about the details of that, but people in that branch were stealing from customers and screwing over the employees that they fired.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm.” Hyunjin hummed in agreement and pressed his lips together. He seemed a bit angry. “Yep. They were </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> screwing them over. It was so sneaky and just— </span>
  <em>
    <span>ugh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Ryujin told me about that.” Felix let out a breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was the whole team of highest executives that was in on it, and I spoke to all of them once, but they all tried to cover it up and tell me that once </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> would get a promotion I would understand or something.” Hyunjin gritted his teeth and Seungmin let out a breath. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Asshats.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So you confronted your parents and the other people involved about it, but they didn’t listen to you, so you told them you would drop it, but you still started compiling evidence.” Seungmin continued, but he was getting to a part where he wasn’t sure what happened. “I’m not sure exactly what the sequence of events was, but I guess you started compiling evidence when you were still working there, but you did move here before it was finished, probably to make yourself less suspicious…? But you said that you had left a piece of your research behind, which I guess you didn’t notice until it was too late.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right.” Hyunjin said. “I began compiling evidence when I was still working for my parents, and I tried to do so as sneakily as possible, but it was pretty hard. When I thought that I had gathered enough, I quit the job and I moved here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell us the story of how you found this town.” Jeongin patted Hyunjin’s leg with urgence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right, I don’t even know how he found us. And based on what Chan, Changbin and Jisung said, they don’t know either. Not even Jeongin knows.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right! I haven’t told anyone that yet.” Hyunjin nodded. “I, uhh, was being kind of careful of people finding out where I was from, so I didn’t tell anyone anything about this, but here goes.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A couple of weeks before I made up my mind to leave, my parents had hired three new people to work for us. I was really excited because you guys were kind of my age and I thought that it would be nice for Chaeryeong to have some more same age coworkers as well.” He began, gesturing towards the three musicians with a proud smile. Seungmin had already suspected that it had something to do with them. “I was already researching leaving and so I decided to, uhh, do some research about the new employees.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You found this town by </span>
  <em>
    <span>stalking</span>
  </em>
  <span> us?!” Changbin exclaimed. Hyunjin held his hands up in defense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! I just wanted to get to know you guys better but my parents already thought that I talked to you too much, so I just did some research myself.” He defended himself. “It’s not like you guys didn’t tell me where you were from or something. I could have easily figured it out by looking at the address on your letters, but I didn’t. I just searched up the place that you told me and then I found Minho’s post that he was searching for a roommate. It’s that simple.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s that simple…? Woah. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh… Okay then.” Changbin said. “But you didn’t use us just to find a place to stay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Of course not!” Hyunjin shook his head vigorously, looking between his three friends. “The only reason that I didn’t want to be mentioned in Minho’s letters to you guys is because I didn’t want anyone to be in danger because of me. Because by the time I moved here I realized that I had left behind a small part of my research, only one page, but still… It was only a matter of time before someone would find it and figure out what it was and confront me. And it wasn’t like I could go back and get it… I just hoped I could finish it before anything bad would happen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Hyunjin.” Chan assured him and Hyunjin’s expression softened. Hyunjin then turned to Seungmin again and raised his eyebrows, so Seungmin knew that it was his turn again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You moved in with Minho and you kept your research with you until you moved it to your locker at the salon.” He continued slowly, but as he brought up the salon, he was reminded of his love letter again. The salon had been where he and Hyunjin had spent lots of lunch breaks and that had also been where Seungmin had seen how happy Hyunjin had been with his love letter. He had to admit he was kind of curious what happened with his letter, but that could wait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And then?” Jeongin spoke up, pulling Seungmin out of his thoughts. The latter shook his head to focus again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry. Got a little distracted while thinking.” He apologized. “A couple of weeks before you disappeared, your research was found and your parents started looking for you. They also notified Yeji’s parents via phone and I suppose that they found you maybe via Jeongin?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was a total guess, but Jeongin looked down guiltily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They probably did… But that’s okay. I had anticipated that, but I just couldn’t bear to leave you behind without saying a word. I don’t regret a thing, though.” Hyunjin told the younger. “I still feel really guilty for not telling Yeji anything and I really thought she was going to kill me for that. I was lucky she forgave me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> lucky.” Jeongin’s expression lightened as he snickered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They sent Yeji out there to confirm that you were actually here, and you saw her, and you asked Jeongin about it, but you didn’t want to take the risk to approach her.” Seungmin continued when he saw that Jeongin was reassured. “The day before you disappeared, you got a text from a hidden number. We never figured out what it said, but my best guess is that it told you to go to that night club for some reason, and it involved Jeongin, because you sent him a text after. Jeongin didn’t reply to you because I presume that it was your parents who blocked your number on his phone when they searched his phone, but you still went there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>So</span>
  </em>
  <span> I went there.” Hyunjin corrected him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>So</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Seungmin repeated, knitting his brows together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That text… It was an image, </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposedly</span>
  </em>
  <span> from Jeongin and Yeji, warning me that there was something wrong at home and that they had to be careful, but that maybe we could help each other out. It told me to meet them behind that club.” Hyunjin began explaining. Jeongin squinted at him in confusion. “I knew that it wasn’t from Jeongin, but I wanted to know if he was safe, so I sent him a text, hoping to get a response that would confirm that he was okay— Or at least that he hadn’t sent me that text. I’m not sure who </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> send it, but I’m sure that one of Jung Wook’s people was good at that kind of stuff.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Now Seungmin understood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeongin didn’t reply, so I became worried, because this meant that someone had figured out that Jeongin knew where I was. I was worried that they would maybe hurt Jeongin or Yeji, so I decided to go there to check it out.” Hyunjin continued, fidgeting with his hands as he spoke. “I went there and I tried to hide myself at the side of the building.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> spying on whoever was standing there, but it was just to see if Jeongin and Yeji were there, but they spotted you before you could leave and then dragged you to behind the building?” Minho pointed his finger at Hyunjin, a small smug smile on his face. “I was right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin’s eyes went wide in surprise. “Wait, how do you know that? You guys actually went there to look for me? How did you find that place?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felix did some tech magic and found the last place your phone was turned on. That’s how we knew about your texts as well.” Minho patted the boy on the back fondly and Felix scratched his neck bashfully. Hyunjin looked at Felix and then at Seungmin and Minho in awe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well— Yeah. I went there to see if someone was maybe holding Jeongin or Yeji hostage, but then I saw guys from the company. No Jeongin. No Yeji.” Hyunjin said. “I wanted to leave again, but they saw me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My next guess is that they then dragged you behind the building and confronted you about your research. You didn’t want to tell them and so they threatened to search your apartment, but you managed to get your keys, bend them with your teeth and throw them away before anyone could get them. Maybe it was also to send us a message.” Seungmin continued sketching the scene of what he thought had happened. Hyunjin nodded in confirmation. “I guess that they expected you to cooperate better and that they weren’t prepared to actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>break</span>
  </em>
  <span> into your apartment to search it, because there was a pretty long timespan between you going to that club and the break-in.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correct. I bent my keys to try and trick them into thinking that there actually was something valuable in this apartment. I threw them away in the hope that they would leave them behind and in the hope that you guys would find them and could use them to find my research.” Hyunjin explained. “They took me home to make me talk to my parents, thinking that they could convince me to just hand my research over, but when they noticed that that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon they decided to break into my apartment anyway. Sorry Minho.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine. I’ll buy new earrings.” Minho waved him off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They took your earrings…?” Hyunjin asked innocently, a guilty expression taking over his face. “Why?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They wanted to make it look like just a robbery, I guess.” Seungmin shrugged. “It was a bit of a shitty distraction technique, though. Oh and...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin turned to Hyunjin with a sorry expression. “You still ended up in the newspaper… Your disappearance and the break-in made it into the newspaper in record time.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin sighed, but his mouth twitched up into a small smile. “I know. My parents were still trying to convince me to cooperate, but then they saw the news— They had been keeping up with our news ever since they suspected that that was the town where I lived. They basically gave up trying to convince me after my apartment raid came up empty and after they saw the news, so they prepared invitations. I guess it was to get more support or something, in case things would go sideways.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin’s gaze strayed to Jeongin at the mention of the invitations, because he was the one who had sent them the invitation. Hyunjin would probably want to know that. Jeongin felt Seungmin’s gaze on him and they met eyes. Jeongin tilted his head in question before his face lit up in realization.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I’ll explain what I was doing in the meantime.” Jeongin began. “I found out about Hyunjin’s disappearance and the break-in from Mr and Mrs Hwang and I also found out that somehow Hyunjin’s number had been blocked on my phone. I was starting to suspect that there was maybe something off about those invitations, since they were sending them out so soon after Hyunjin disappeared so I decided to snatch one and send it to Hyunjin’s address to hire Seungmin to help me find him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin listened intently to his friend and leaned forward while placing a hand on Jeongin’s leg. “Thank you for doing that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that way he could tell us about his research.” Seungmin agreed, but there was still something that he didn’t understand about the whole situation. About how Hyunjin had been able to give them that clue in the first place. “Why were you still in the house when the guests came, though?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, that… They obviously didn’t want me to stay that long, but I… uhh… I can kind of be a spoiled brat sometimes and get what I want from people…?” Hyunjin’s cheeks grew pink and he chuckled. “I was being difficult and I kept on insisting that I had hidden something in the study to stall them and they didn’t really believe me but they didn’t want to risk leaving a clue behind so I managed to stall them until preparations were already in full motion and they couldn’t get me out of the mansion sneakily without risking that I would yell and warn the staff on the way. They did threaten to chloroform me but my parents didn’t want them to hurt me if unnecessary.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Difficult</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Seungmin gave him an exasperated look. “You can call it clever, it’s okay.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… I would say that Hyunjin can be a bit of a spoiled brat sometimes.” Minho raised his eyebrows at Seungmin. “But I guess you would see it differently.” He winked cheekily and Seungmin rolled his eyes. Minho was obviously joking, he had never complained about Hyunjin being spoiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway— So they kept you in the study and told you to keep quiet until the guests would leave. Somehow you found out that Minho and I were there and you went to the bathroom to get some privacy and wrote us that message.” Seungmin steered the conversation back on track. “You took some clean toilet paper with you to the study and dropped it there to let us know that you left a message in the bathroom. You then tipped over the desk to notify us, but that was when the people with you had had enough and used chloroform on you to get you out. Out of the window or something, I don’t know, it had to be a way where the risk of getting caught was lowest, obviously.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait. Is that really what happened?” Jisung’s eyes were wide like saucers as he looked at Hyunjin in awe. “That is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> smart, holy shit!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin snickered and scratched his neck. “I guess… I was kind of desperate. I have no idea how they got me out, but I guess that the safest way would be via back of the house and the garden, if everyone was in the dining hall and the kitchen at that time.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did you know that we were there, though?” Minho asked. “You couldn’t have gone down to look, could you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I didn’t go down, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but</span>
  </em>
  <span>…” Hyunjin trailed off, trying to stifle a laugh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh…? Wait… Did he perhaps</span>
  </em>
  <span>—</span>
  <em>
    <span>?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Seungmin swallowed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh gosh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hyunjin snickered. “It’s actually pretty funny how I found out that you guys were there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We heard a yell coming from downstairs and some guys went out of the study to check it out, and they left the door open so I could hear things better, but it was still hard to hear anything.” Hyunjin began, a small smirk on his face and Seungmin felt a blush creep up his neck, already knowing where this was going. He flicked his eyes to Jeongin and saw that he was squinting at Hyunjin too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But then I heard </span>
  <em>
    <span>your voice</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You called out </span>
  <em>
    <span>'Wait!' </span>
  </em>
  <span>and I heard you loud and clear.” Hyunjin smiled widely at Seungmin. “And when the guys came back to tell everyone what was going on, they said that it came from the guest room. Yeji had just seen something that she would have liked not to see.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Hyunjin finished the sentence immediately everyone burst into laughter, except for Seungmin and Jeongin, who both pressed their lips together awkwardly. Seungmin felt his head get hot, but when he met Jeongin's eyes, they both couldn't help but laugh along. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>surprised and I am incredibly curious about what she walked in on.” Hyunjin snickered as the laughter died down. Seungmin made eye contact with Jeongin again and they silently urged the other to tell the story. Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at Jeongin. “Jeongin, you are involved?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don't get weird thoughts in your head, Jinnie! Let us explain.” The younger shot him a </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “We just went to that guest room to get some privacy—” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin snorted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“—some privacy to </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk</span>
  </em>
  <span> to each other!” Jeongin slapped Hyunjin on his arm and Hyunjin dramatically gasped. “Gosh, you’re just as annoying as Yeji!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin apologized and Jeongin continued. “We went somewhere private to talk and I joked about that if someone would walk in we could pretend to be ‘busy’ because I thought that was funny. Seungmin didn’t think it was that funny, but when Yeji knocked on the door, Seungmin suggested it again!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone whipped their heads to Seungmin now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh gosh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I just couldn’t think of anything else because Jeongin had brought it up! And he said that no one would come in, so I wasn’t prepared.” Seungmin tried to hide the blush as he tried to explain what happened. “We weren’t doing anything, we were just pretending.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it was convincing enough to make Yeji scream her lungs out.” Hyunjin snickered. “So I kinda wanna know what you did to make her do that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin sighed and looked at Jeongin, because he had kinda taken the most initiative, so he thought that it was the younger’s responsibility to tell him about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just took our jackets off, pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him and we pretended to be busy and shit.” Jeongin shrugged. “Seungmin was squeezing my shoulders off, but we weren’t doing anything weird.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minho and Jisung were also pretending to kiss in the hallway.” Seungmin tried to shift the focus away from him and Jeongin, so that he wouldn’t have to think about that moment anymore. Not because he still thought it was incredibly embarrassing (it was mildly embarrassing), but mostly because he didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Hyunjin turned to said boys. Mission accomplished. “Damn, I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>missed</span>
  </em>
  <span> a lot!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was a distraction technique! I wasn’t supposed to be talking to Minho, but I had to explain our situation to him.” Jisung explained before he turned to Minho with a sweet expression. “We did some real kissing later that night, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god.” Hyunjin said again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough sappiness, sweets. Let’s move on.” Minho said in a fakely super-sweet voice, tickling Jisung under his chin as if he was one of his cats and making him giggle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your parents found out that I was investigating your disappearance, because they caught me in the study, so they pretended to want to help us and tried to mislead us and shift the focus onto the Yang family to frame Jeongin. They also let us investigate the house freely and invited us to stay the night. I guess that they kept you away from the house while we were there. Jisung helped me understand your message and we went back to search for your research.” Seungmin continued. “I guess they then shifted their focus to making sure that </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span> wouldn’t find anything too risky. They found out that Jisung knew us and they took him as a distraction or a stalling technique while also sending Park Jinyoung to see if I had found anything. I’m not sure if it was initially planned as a distraction, maybe they just saw that they were being followed and changed plans last minute.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I heard them talking about needing a new plan to try to gain more leverage on you guys or maybe trying to stall you guys and—” Hyunjin cut himself off. “Wait, did you say Park Jinyoung…?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin nodded. “Yeah, that guy in charge. Who was speaking a lot and hit you in the face. I guess he was an intern trying to climb up the ladder in the company or something?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh—? Oh.” Hyunjin’s confused expression cleared up. “No, that guy’s name is Jung Wook. He used a fake name to distract you guys, I guess? He’s a real asshole.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh he was one of the top guys in your branch!” Apparently Felix recognized the name. It made sense, since he had been in charge of the research for the most part. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. He is kind of the… </span>
  <em>
    <span>brain</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the company. My parents let him do most of the planning and organizing of everything that happened after the gathering at my parents’ home.” Hyunjin clarified. “But he still had to follow their rules, because at the end of the day they have the most power in the company, so even though he sometimes wanted to use more violent methods, he was smart enough to realize that that would come bite him later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, woah. That’s actually kind of good that your parents put him in charge, better than a no brainer who would resort to violence anyway, without considering the consequences.” Seungmin mused. They really had been kind of lucky that everything went relatively well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s better if Minho or Felix tells us the rest? Because I was kidnapped after.” He then suggested and Felix took over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh, we still went to the Hwang residence because we were suspecting that maybe one of our friends could be in danger. Luckily Jeongin saw Jisung getting taken and we could rescue him.” Felix told him. “On the way back we encountered Ryujin and Lia who saved our asses by finding out where you guys were. I think you know the rest.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunjin nodded. “Again, I’m sorry about involving you guys. My parents and the top guys in the company are clever, so I couldn’t do it alone… But I’m taking legal actions against them and I’m using my research as evidence.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Hyunjin.” Seungmin spoke up. “We all would have gone looking for you anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.” Jeongin agreed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It must have been hard for you to find out that your parents were in on it, was it?” Minho asked him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It… Well, yeah, it was.” Hyunjin’s gaze moved down to his lap and Seungmin had the urge to hold his hand to comfort him. “I… At least they made sure that I wouldn’t get hurt. They weren’t responsible for the worst parts... and they let me go home today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you have to be there for the lawsuit, though?” Changbin asked him and Hyunjin looked up again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do, but Yeji— after I told her everything and she wasn’t too mad at me anymore— said that she’s willing to take on most of my responsibilities regarding that so that I can stay here. I’ll call her to discuss most things, though.” Hyunjin explained and Seungmin let out a breath of relief. Hyunjin wouldn’t have to go anytime soon, thank goodness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had discussed most of the situation surrounding Hyunjin’s disappearance and Hyunjin had offered Chan, Changbin and Jisung to talk to his parents about an arrangement regarding them quitting their job. With that, Seungmin thought that they were done talking about the most important things, but he should have known better. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so case closed?” He closed his notebook and looked around the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Minho, Hyunjin </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jeongin protested simultaneously. Seungmin held his hands up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, woah, okay.” He knew what Minho still had to say, but Jeongin and Hyunjin? He wasn't sure. “Who first?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me.” Jeongin raised his hand. “I still need to pay you, Minho and Felix.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. You still want to pay us?” Seungmin had already told him that he didn't need payment, but he guessed that if Jeongin insisted he would accept. “You already paid for two pretty expensive suits for us to wear, though. And gloves. And shoes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m sure. Just give me your bank details and I'll make sure to pay you for helping Hyunjin out.” Jeongin said insistently, looking between Minho, Felix and Seungmin. “I think you guys deserve it. Especially since you broke your ankle in the process, Minnie.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felix looked at Seungmin for confirmation and then he turned to Jeongin and smiled. “Okay. Thank you, Jeongin.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to go first or shall I?” Minho then asked Hyunjin, gesturing to Hyunjin and then to himself. Hyunjin motioned the older that he could go first and Seungmin felt his heart pick up its pace. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He's going to ask about the love letter. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I actually have one more question for you, Hyunjin.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened to your love letter?” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>End of chapter 21</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>only one more question that needs an answer...! (happy valentine's day ;))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Haven’t I given you enough clues?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“What happened to my love letter?” Hyunjin repeated Minho’s question. Minho nodded and a light smirk appeared on Hyunjin’s face. </p><p>“It was gone from the apartment, but it didn't have anything to do with your disappearance, did it?” Minho raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin in question. </p><p>“It didn't.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The resolve! We find out what happened to the love letter and more~~</p><p>Enjoy the last chapter!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What happened to my love letter?” Hyunjin repeated Minho’s question. Minho nodded and a light smirk appeared on Hyunjin’s face. </p><p> </p><p>“It was gone from the apartment, but it didn't have anything to do with your disappearance, did it?” Minho raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin in question. </p><p> </p><p>“It didn't.” The boy confirmed and he stood up to get something from his coat. “It's a bit crumpled unfortunately, but I still have it.” </p><p> </p><p>Hyunjin turned back to them with a proud smile on his face, showing off a not really crumpled, but rather tightly folded piece of paper. <em> He still has it?  </em></p><p> </p><p>“How did— How have you— Just <em> how </em> ?” Seungmin couldn't believe that no one had taken that from him or something. He stared at Hyunjin and he felt that the rest of his friends were looking at <em> him </em> rather than at Hyunjin— They all knew that Seungmin had written the letter. Except for Jeongin. Hyunjin was staring right back at him for a while before he sat down again and looked away, and Seungmin swore he saw his cheeks become slightly pink. </p><p> </p><p>“I still had it with me when I went to that nightclub—I didn’t think about that it was still in my pocket— and, when they spotted me, I knew that they were going to search me eventually, and I wanted to keep it safe…” Hyunjin told them and he trailed off. “So I did.” </p><p> </p><p>“How?” Seungmin repeated. </p><p> </p><p>“It kept it somewhere they wouldn't search me until I could hide it in one of the bathroom cabinets and retrieve it after everything was over. Or until you would find it, but you didn't.” Hyunjin had a lopsided smile on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“Somewhere they wouldn't search you?” Chan tilted his head in confusion, but Seungmin thought he understood. </p><p> </p><p>He snorted and everyone whipped their heads to him. </p><p> </p><p>“If it's where I think you mean, then I have actually pulled something similar to you.” Seungmin snickered and Hyunjin’s eyes widened. </p><p> </p><p>“Really?” He asked. “You put something in your underwear as well?!” </p><p> </p><p>“<em> What?! </em>” Jisung shrieked and everyone began speaking through each other, asking Seungmin why they didn't know about this and about what happened. </p><p> </p><p>“Guys! If you shut up I can tell you what happened!” He waved his arms around to get his friends' attention. “When that Park— I mean when that Jung Wook guy came by, he thought that my notebook was Hyunjin’s research and I didn't want him to have it, so I put it in a jewelry box and stuffed the key into my underwear so that he wouldn't be able to get it. And he didn't, thank goodness.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh woah, you <em> go </em>, detective Kim!” Minho held his hand up for a high five and Seungmin dodged him, earning himself a glare from the older. Minho then turned to Hyunjin. “Also clever of you, Mister Love Letter.” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I think it's sweet that you protected that letter even though you know that we scanned it.” Felix said and Hyunjin blushed. </p><p> </p><p>“It just means a lot to me, this letter…” He mumbled softly and Seungmin felt his stomach flip and flop around. “That's actually what I wanted to ask about as well. The love letter.” </p><p> </p><p>Hyunjin turned to Seungmin and their eyes met. “Did you figure out who wrote it?” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin gulped. All eyes were on him. “Yeah. I did.” His heart was thumping like <em> crazy </em>. He was going to have to confess now, was he? He was going to have to tell Hyunjin everything.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys, uhh, let's get some food and leave these guys alone to talk in private. We'll hear it later.” Seungmin barely processed Chan getting everyone out of the apartment as he was distracted by Hyunjin’s gaze on him, his expression unreadable to Seungmin. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you still worried that I'm not going to like what you found?” Hyunjin asked, his expression soft, but also curious. Seungmin frowned a little. <em> What kind of question is that…? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Do— You know who wrote it as well, don’t you?” Seungmin stuttered out, cursing himself for sounding insecure. </p><p> </p><p>“You didn't answer my question.” Hyunjin scooted a little closer to him on the couch, so that their thighs were just barely touching. Seungmin felt his heart jump. Hyunjin moved his hand but stopped just above Seungmin’s, but eventually let his fingers rest atop of his hand. “I'll answer yours as well.” </p><p> </p><p>“Okay. I am a little worried, if I'm honest.” He whispered, because Hyunjin was close enough to hear him and he wasn't sure what to feel right now. It had been a while since he had seen Hyunjin when he wasn't sick, and he was already a little overwhelmed by the butterflies raging around in his stomach. He just couldn’t ignore the possibility that Hyunjin would reject him and feel uncomfortable.</p><p> </p><p>“Why?” Hyunjin turned his whole body so that he was facing Seungmin, keeping his fingers in place on top of Seungmin’s hand. Seungmin mirrored his position so that they were facing each other fully. </p><p> </p><p>“No.” He shook his head. “First you answer my question.” </p><p> </p><p>“I have a feeling, but I'm not sure. That's why I hired you.” Hyunjin told him, his expression still unreadable to him. Hyunjin now took Seungmin's hand and dragged his thumb along the back of it in soothing circles. “Tell me why you're worried. Do you think I don't like the person who wrote it?” </p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, I’m not sure. I— I do know that you don’t hate the person who wrote it.” Seungmin didn’t want to assume anything, because getting his hopes up was still dangerous. The fact that Hyunjin probably already knew that Seungmin had written it, but hadn’t said anything yet, <em> could </em> mean that he liked it, but could also mean that he just didn’t want to hurt Seungmin’s feelings.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you serious?” Hyunjin looked at him with raised eyebrows. “You know that I don’t <em> hate </em> them? That’s all?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yes…?” Seungmin tried, but Hyunjin just looked at him exasperatedly. “Well— I know that you’re friends with that person—”</p><p> </p><p>Hyunjin looked at him pointedly and Seungmin cut himself off and sighed. He flicked his eyes down to his lap. “With me. I know that you like me as a friend. I wrote the letter.” He threw out the words quickly and let out a breath after, carefully raising his eyes to look at his friend’s expression, but Hyunjin was still looking at him with the same pointed expression.</p><p> </p><p>“...Did you know…?” Seungmin hesitantly asked. “That I wrote it?” </p><p> </p><p>“Kim Seungmin! <em> You </em> are the investigator!” Hyunjin let go of his hand to grab his shoulders and lightly shake the younger. “You are so smart! You figured out my vague message and found my research! You figured out how to make me laugh, how to make me feel comfortable and how to make me forget all of my worries so quickly. Why can’t you figure out my feelings, then? Haven’t I given you enough clues?” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin’s eyes grew wide. <em> Does that mean that he…? </em> “...What?” </p><p> </p><p>Hyunjin sighed and let his hands slip down from Seungmin’s shoulders along his arms to take a hold of his hands again. He then locked eyes with Seungmin, his gaze suddenly incredibly tender and Seungmin felt a little shy under it. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course I return your feelings, Minnie. I thought I could let you know by showing you how happy I was with your letter— I kinda had the feeling it was you, because I thought I recognized your handwriting. You write a lot.” <em> Of course. Whoops. </em> Seungmin felt his cheeks grow warm and Hyunjin seemed to notice, because his eyes roamed over his face and a small but fond smile grew on his face. </p><p> </p><p>“But also, I felt like the person who wrote the letter knew me so well, and so I thought <em> ‘Who knows me better than Seungmin?’ </em>, but I don't think there is anyone who knows how to make me happy better than you do.” Hyunjin continued, his own cheeks growing pink as well. “The letter made me feel so warm and loved, just like you do.”</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin’s breath hitched. He couldn’t believe his ears. He wondered again why he was so lucky to be able to make Hyunjin feel this way. He also wondered why he hadn't noticed Hyunjin’s feelings before, because the soft, gentle, <em> loving </em> way Hyunjin was looking at him right now was somehow so familiar to him. </p><p> </p><p>“I'm sorry. I see it now.” Seungmin squeezed Hyunjin’s hands. “I was just afraid of losing you.”</p><p> </p><p>“You don't have to worry about that.” Hyunjin let go of Seungmin’s hands to place his own on Seungmin’s cheeks and drag his thumbs along them reassuringly. It was soothing and Seungmin leaned into the touch. </p><p> </p><p><em> And you don't have to worry either, </em>he thought, but instead of saying it out loud, he leaned forward and looked into Hyunjin’s eyes to see if he could show him how much he felt for him instead. He almost went cross-eyed from their proximity, but Hyunjin showed no signs of resistance, Seungmin swore he even felt Hyunjin pull him even closer and so he let his eyes flutter shut as he closed the gap between them, slotting their lips together softly. </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin placed his hands on Hyunjin’s hips to steady himself, a wave of warmth washing over him. Hyunjin’s lips felt even softer pressed to his own than he had imagined and he melted, even though their kiss only lasted a second or two. </p><p>When they parted, Seungmin couldn't help but smile widely and Hyunjin mirrored his expression before he dove in for another, more passionate kiss this time. </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin quickly closed his eyes again to kiss back. He shivered as Hyunjin’s hands moved along his face to the back of his head and he tangled his fingers into Seungmin's hair to pull him closer, angling their heads a bit. Butterflies were raging in his stomach as Hyunjin immediately chased him again after they pulled apart to breathe. </p><p> </p><p>They kept kissing as if Hyunjin had to leave again soon, but Seungmin felt content knowing that he could keep this up and he wouldn’t have to worry about Hyunjin leaving. Hyunjin almost climbed onto Seungmin’s lap as he tried to pull him even closer and kiss him even more passionately.</p><p> </p><p>Seungmin gasped out of the kiss and he couldn’t help but smile again. They met eyes again and Hyunjin’s scrunched up in a cute giggle. The sound made Seungmin feel so fond. </p><p> </p><p>“What?” Seungmin felt laughter bubbling up in his chest as well for some reason. Maybe it was just because he felt so happy. Hyunjin didn’t answer him and just kept giggling, so Seungmin pushed his shoulder playfully. “What is it? What’s funny?” </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing. I just feel really happy, compared to how I’ve been feeling lately.” Hyunjin ruffled Seungmin’s hair and patted his cheek with such a bright smile on his face. “You make me feel happy.” </p><p> </p><p>“Hyunjin.” Seungmin took the hand away from his face and gave him a serious look. He sighed in exasperation. “If you keep saying stuff like that I am going to explode. I don’t know what to say back!” </p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything back. That’s not why I say it.” Hyunjin placed a soft kiss on Seungmin’s cheek and Seungmin returned the gesture, because Hyunjin’s cheeks were just so soft and squishy and he needed to give the man some love in return for all the love he was receiving right now. “You can write me another love letter if you want, though.” </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin saw that Hyunjin was joking, but he was actually considering it. It was easier to write down the words than to actually say them, but he did think that he had to work on that, because surely Hyunjin would like to be loved with words every once in a while.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll work on it.” He promised.</p><p><br/>
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</p><p>“I have never seen this many people in the salon at once.” Yuna set down a cup of tea in front of Seungmin and put her hands on her hips as she looked around. “Maybe this’ll even get in the newspaper!” </p><p> </p><p>Hyunjin sighed as he kept combing Chan’s hair. “I don’t want to be in the newspaper <em> again </em>!” </p><p> </p><p>“Should we give Yuna credit for doing our hair, then?” Jisung teased him and Hyunjin pouted. Seungmin couldn’t help but snicker at his boyfriend’s dramatics as he took a sip of his tea. </p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t want her to help you do our hair for the show and you do want credit, but you also don’t want credit.” Changbin complained. “Pick one!” </p><p> </p><p>“I think that means the newspaper, buddy.” Yeji patted her cousin’s arm in support. </p><p> </p><p>They had all gathered in the salon, where Hyunjin was styling Chan’s hair for their gig right now. He had already done Changbin and Jisung and Jisung was sitting on Minho’s lap, as there weren’t enough chairs for everyone, because probably half of the audience had gathered in the salon to hang out before the gig. (Not that Seungmin would be surprised if Jisung would still sit on Minho’s lap even if there <em> were </em> enough chairs.) </p><p> </p><p>Hyunjin had invited Yeji and Jeongin to come, Yeji had invited Ryujin, Lia and Chaeryeong to come and of course Seungmin, Felix and Minho were already planning to go. Yuna had offered Hyunjin to help, but Hyunjin wanted to show the three musicians what he had learned here, so he had insisted on doing the hair of all three of them. In the meantime Yuna had made friends with Yeji, Lia, Chaeryeong and Ryujin, chatting away while the rest was busy. </p><p> </p><p>Yeji and Hyunjin were still dealing with family matters, but it wasn’t taking up most of their time anymore. Chan, Changbin and Jisung had moved back to their tiny town after having made an agreement with Hyunjin’s parents to keep the instruments and equipment, they could even now afford an upgrade from their apartment to a place where the three of them could live and stash all of their stuff. </p><p> </p><p>Seungmin himself hadn’t really gotten more big assignments yet, because he wanted to wait until his ankle was fully healed before doing anything ambitious, so he had just taken on small jobs from the townspeople to get by and to get himself known a little more. He had faith that he would be able to get bigger jobs soon, though, because both he and Felix were getting better at this business stuff. </p><p> </p><p>The thing that mattered to him the most, though, was that his friends were all back and that they were happy. (And maybe he was glad that he could kiss Hyunjin whenever he wanted now, too. That was nice, too.)</p><p><br/>
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  <em> The End. </em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The END! </p><p>I hope you guys enjoyed this fic! It was certainly a Project for me, it took me over 3 months to plan and write and it's my longest fic yet! I do have more coming but also feel free to check out my other fics haha ;))  (btw, you can find me on:<br/><a href="https://skz-vla.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a><br/>And on <a href="https://twitter.com/kersenvla">twitter</a> if you're interested)</p><p>Thank you so much for reading it until the end :D<br/>Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and have a nice day &lt;33</p>
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